The English Husbandman | Page 5

Capons, Duckes, and Géese, your french Kilne, and Malting flowres, with such like necessaries: and ouer crosse betwixt both these sides, you shall build your bound houels, to cary your Pease, of good and sufficient timber, vnder which you shall place when they are out of vse your Cartes, Waynes, Tumbrels, Ploughs, Harrowes, and such like, together with Plough timber, and axletrées: all which would very carefully be kept from wet, which of all things doth soonest rot and consume them. And thus much of the Husbandmans house, and the necessaries there to belonging.

CHAP. III.
Of the seuerall parts and members of an ordinarie Plough, and of the ioyning of them together.
If a workeman of any trade, or mistery, cannot giue directions how, and in what manner, the tooles where with he worketh should be made or fashioned, doubtlesse hée shall neuer worke well with them, nor know when they are in temper and when out. And so it fareth with the Husbandman, for if hée know not how his Plough should be made, nor the seuerall members of which it consisteth, with the vertue and vse of euery member, it is impossible that euer hée should make a good furrow, or turne ouer his ground in Husbandly manner: Therefore that euery Husbandman may know how a well shaped Plough is made, he shall vnderstand that the first member thereof, as being the strongest and most principallest péece of timber belonging to the same, is called the Plough-beame, being a large long péece of timber much bending, according to the forme of this figure.
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This beame hath no certaine length nor thicknesse, but is proportioned according to the ground, for if it be for a clay ground the length is almost seauen foote, if for any other mixt or lighter earth, then fiue or sixe foote is long inough.
The second member or part of the Plough, is called the skeath, and is a péece of woode of two foote and a halfe in length, and of eight inches in breadth, and two inches in thicknesse: it is driuen extreamly hard into the Plough-beame, slopewise, so that ioyned they present this figure.
{Illustration}
The third part is called the Ploughes principall hale, and doth belong to the left hand being a long bent péece of woode, some what strong in the midst, and so slender at the vpper end that a man may easily gripe it, which being fixed with the rest presenteth this figure.
{Illustration}
The fourth part is the Plough head, which must be fixed with the sheath & the head all at one instant in two seuerall mortisse holes: it is a flat péece of timber, almost thrée foote in length if it be for clay ground, otherwise shorter, of breadth seauen inches, and of thicknesse too inches and a halfe, which being ioyned to the rest presenteth this figure.
{Illustration}
The fift part is the Plough spindels, which are two small round pieces of woode, which coupleth together the hales, as in this figure.
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The sixt part is the right hand hale, through which the other end of the spindels runne, and is much slenderer then the left hand hale, for it is put to no force, but is onely a stay and aide to the Plough houlder when hée cometh to heauy, stiffe, and strong worke, and being ioyned with the rest presenteth this figure.
{Illustration}
The seauenth part is the Plough-rest, which is a small péece of woode, which is fixt at one end in the further nicke of the Plough head, and the other end to the Ploughs right-hand hale, as you may sée by this figure.
{Illustration}
The eight part is called the shelboard, and is a broad board of more then an inche thicknesse, which couereth all the right side of the Plough, and is fastned with two strong pinnes of woode through the sheath, and the right-hand hale, according to this figure.
{Illustration}
The ninth part is the coulture, which is a long péece of Iron, made sharpe at the neather end, and also sharpe on one side and being for a stiffe clay it must be straight without bending, which passeth by a mortisse-hole through the beame, and to this coulture belongeth an Iron ring, which windeth about the beame and kéepeth it in strength from breaking as may appeare by this figure.
{Illustration}
The tenth part of a compleate Plough, is the share; which is fixed to the Plough head, and is that which cutteth and turneth vp the earth: if it be for a mixt earth then it is made without a wing, or with a very small one, but if it be for a déepe, or stiffe clay, then it is made with a large wing, or an outward point, like the figure following.
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The eleuenth part of a perfect Plough is called the Plough