A DAY'S WORK WITH THE PLOUGH

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20229, 13 April 1929, Page 14

A DAY'S WORK WITH THE PLOUGH

Sir.—A good deal of information is given by "Strawberry Ploughman" and others. One point they have missed is tHe kind of land to be ploughed. They don't say whether it is flat, hilly, swamp or bush land, and if it is in its natural condition. These are very important factors in calculating the area that can be ploughed in an eight-hour day. I have no doubt that "Strawberry Ploughman" has done what he states, viz., 50 acres in 29 days, but ho speaks' of very important factors when ho says "if you have good horse flesh and good feed." The great majority of people try to do their ploughing with poor horses and very littlo food. To get down to the real facts of what is a fair day's work for a single-furrow plough, a man and two horses, on average conditions, I should say with a 9in. x 6in., would be one and a-half acres per day. I have not had much experience with single-furrow ploughs, but have done 2000 acres with double ones, under all conditions, and on a 200-acre block in South Canterbury I averaged three acres a day from start lo finish, including the time required to cart horse feed. In Scotland, it was considered a fair day's work -to do one acre with a single-furrow swing plough and two horses, as the ground was ploughed and the furrows set well up on their edge, iii order to lie easily worked by tlio tine harrows and weather. In tho>e days there were no disc harrows to break lip I lie land, and one had to depend on the tine harrows. I have ploughed in the Southland champion match and was awarded a third prize among 40 ploughmen. So that , speaks for itself. The work done there is "high cut" and about 6in. or 6Ain. wide, by the same depth. It is not boasting if you can deliver the goods. A. Chishol.m. Overseer, P.W.D., Tarawera. Sir, —I have read with interest, also amusement, the letters appearing in yout paper re farming, ploughing, etc. During my farming experience I ploughed all sorts and conditions of land, and know that it is impossible to plough two acres of any land with a single-furrow plough in one day. In North Otago we did not use single furrows very much, as they were too slow and too light for the land there, but with a double-turrow plough, in good soil, cutting an llin. furrow, and the best ' four-horse team in the country, 1 was able to turn over three acres, and that was a good eight hours work. In reference to ploughing ini England. my father, who was an expert ploughman, used to tell nie one acre a day was goof I jtoing with a single-furrow, two horses and two men. North Otaco Farmer.