The English improver improved, or, The svrvey of hvsbandry svrveyed discovering the improueableness of all lands some to be under a double and treble, others under a five or six fould, and many under a tenn fould, yea, some under a twenty fould improvement / by Walter Blith ... ; all clearely demonstrated from principles of reason, ingenuity, and late but most real experiences and held forth at an inconsiderable charge to the profits accrewing thereby, under six peeces of improvement ...

CHAP. XXXIII.

Holds forth a description of a double Plough carrying two Fuorows at once, and both pro∣portionable to a Furrow one ordinary plough shall carry: With a plow that shall both plough and Harraw both at the same time; and how to make a plough last a dozen years.

THe double plough shall be as plain as may be, it shall consist of one long Beam of an ordinary length, and another short one, little above half the length of the other. The first plough may be made up compleat in all the members thereof according to the last preceding description of the plain plough except the handles which may be very short, only so long as may receive the Beam with the Land-handle, and place the Shield-board on the furrow side, which may be done without any but a round staff from the Beam to the Shield-board; which handles excepted, it is one compleat plough in all particulars. The hinder end of the Beam is to be left a little stronger, because of fastening the other beam firmly thereunto; and then I proceed to the making of the hindermost Plough, which must be made in all the members and branches like the other, except the beam cutt off about three inches before the Coulter-hole, and the handles of this at length and strength as an ordinary strong plough is made, just according to the pattern of the plain plough.

Which being done, and the handles upon the last plough, you must set to the placing of it in his place which I disco∣ver thus, the first plough standing in its working posture, the other plough with is the handles to it to be affixed on the

nearer side, or left-hand, one furrow breadth wider than the other, just in the very same posture both for depth and breadth as the other doth, and so held off: from the first ploughs beam by alining, or filling of wood just that sub∣stance as may continue it firm and fast to a just furrow, and there drawn close and firm to that Master-beam with two small iron boults,* 1.1 and a broad float or two of wood, all which may be so keyed and cramped up, that it may be as one solid beam, and so move as the first moves, either for height or depth, which it must needs do, and this I conceive may be best used with a plough-foot to guide the depth of it, unless you place a wheel to that foremost beam, but not in a false beam, because I have not experience of applying this doubleness to those deep pitched ploughs, but in the end of that beam you may have as good a mortess as your beam will bear, which is the mortess for the foot, and there∣in you may place a square good strong piece of tough Ash, or rather of iron, into which you may have your iron Axel∣tree with its square end sitted into three or four severall holes of it, by which means you may set your plough at a working gage, and there continue it, and alter it as you see cause; which plough thus marshalled, you may well plow upon ordinary errable land that is in good tillage a double proportion, and also upon fair clean lay Turf, and this you may manage with two men and four good horses, but not either upon stony land, or rough land, the description and dis∣course wherof I give not in as of any great advantage above the other plain plough, but for variety sake, and to pro∣vok others to the amendment and perfecting of this disco∣very; yet I for present see not, but it may be of excellent use & expedition upon many lands in England; and to say much more is needless, in regard of what hath been before spoken and experience of a good ploughman will order it at plea∣sure.

And so I shall onely discover one other plough that will both plow and harrow of it self at one and the same time,* 1.2 and it is used in severall places in Norfolk, yet casting about with my self the advantages and disadvantages also,

and finding not how it will so well suit with our common wayes of Husbandry as to be a general advantage, I shall say the less, only tell you the manner of it, It is a common light Plough as all theirs are, and as little and light a Harrow, which may contain three little Buls, & about five Tines in a bull, which is made light also, and fixed to the plough at the one end of the beam, so that as the plough turns this turns also, and as the plough turns one furrow, the harrow harrows it over, reaching two more furrows, and so by the over-reaching it strikes two or three times in one place, which is sufficient for the covering any corn whatsoever shal be sowen upon Norfolk lands; but finding these two pre∣judices against it, viz, either this land must be sowed as the land is plowed, & so it will take up a mans time sowing an Acre, when otherwise a man will sow nine or ten Acres in one day, or else it must be sowed before plowing, and then it must be plowed in, and harrowed upon the top of it, which falls not under my experience, having known much land ••all far the heavier and more subject to bind and bu∣ry, than if onely lightly covered with the plough, and laid more open; and now thou ••ast the story, that such a thing is; and may be done, may thy own experience be the deter∣miner of the matter, but after the writing hereof having communicated thus much to a Gentleman of art and worth, do find that another addition may be made thereto, which is how to drop the corn, corn by corn proportionably to that quantity I desire to sow upon an Acre,* 1.3 which if by his assistance I can experimentally make out, I fear not to give you plough, and harrow, and seedsman all at once, and all to work with two horses and one man upon some lands, and with three horses upon all of this nature, & al to be done almost within the same compass of time that you are upon the plowing of it, it shall not require one hour in the day more; w^ch if I shal accomplish, you shall save near three parts of your seed also, and a considerable peece of labour too and not fail to have a better crop through the blessing of him that waters all, than ordinary wise. All which I hope to have brought into substantiall experience upon my own

lands by the next edition, and then expect the faithfull com∣munication thereof. One word more which would have come in more seasonable about the description of the plain plough, and that is how to make a plough that may last ma∣ny years ten or twelve, or fifteen years, yea I heard a work∣man affirm he would make one should last twenty years: As for the manner of the plow it is sufficiently spoken to alrea∣dy, all lyeth in two things: one thing is the wood it is to be made of, and the other is the workmanship of it.

The wood, especiall of the Sheath and plough-head, which is the materiall fundamentall peece in the Plough,* 1.4 must be made of heart of Oak, which to me at first seemed strange, but upon a full debate of the matter I find that if it be young tough Oak, & wrought so exact true in the joynts as may be, & kept so close boarded up as that water cannot get into any of them, and laid alway dry, and so kept, but while in working, and every part of it well clouted & plated with iron, and drawn close in the throat from a hole in the Share, through the Head & part of the Breast-board with a through iron pin which is to be wrought somewhat bigger under the head, that so it may somewhat strain the share to a more perfect closure, and stronger sticking to the head and wel cottered up through the beam, being bored with a long shanked Auger through al: And al the rest of the wood to be young white tough Ash, and wrought compleat and true in every joynt, & laid up when out of use, both out of wind & weather, & out of question a good plough may well serve a mans uncertain life: and so having as I hope, in some good measure supplied that deficiency in Husbandry Mr. Hartlips Legacy chargeth us withall in the fifth page of his Book, and so proceed to the next peece of Improvement.

Notes

• * 1.1

  How to set the double plough together.
• * 1.2

  The plough wi••h a harrow affixed.
• * 1.3

  Plough har∣row, seedsman, and all in one plough••o work all at one time.
• * 1.4

  The lasting plough that may endure many yeares,