Hobbies And Interests
Chinese Plow
The first known iron plow was discovered in the Henan Province of China, and dates back to between the second century and fourth century B.C. Early iron plows like this actually predated the widespread use of animal-drawn plows, and were small, human-powered implements. Ox-drawn iron plows were widespread throughout China by the 12th century, and reached Europe through Dutch merchants in the 17th century.
Iron-clad Plow
Up until the early 19th century, most European and American plows were equipped with iron points attached to wooden moldboards, the wing-shaped body of the plow. While wood is lighter than iron, it took very large pieces of wood to provide the required strength. Iron-clad wood plows were large, cumbersome affairs, often requiring several teams of draft animals to pull them. The wood was difficult to repair once broken, and the sticky soil of the plains stuck to it, requiring frequent cleaning. Due to these drawbacks, some of the most fertile land in America went uncultivated.
Newbold Plow
The Newbold plow was the invention of Charles Newbold, in 1797. While the Newbold plow was an improvement over existing iron-clad plows, it had some serious drawbacks. It was cast in a single piece, with the edges of the moldboard coming together to form the point. Since cast iron could not be repaired once broken, farmers had to replace the plows often, and did not hold a good edge. Nevertheless, the Newbold plow was the first cast-iron plow patented in America.
Jethro Wood's Plow
The cast iron plow reached its true potential in the form of Jethro Wood's refined design. Unlike the Newbold plow, Wood's plow was assembled from several interchangeable parts, which meant that farmers could replace a broken or worn plowshare without buying a whole new plow. This made it profitable to farm formerly marginal land and opened up vast swaths of the American plains, opening the way to expansion and an agricultural revolution in the Americas.