History of the Plow - Who Invented It

When it comes to farming tools, the instruments used back in George Washingtons day were no better than those used during the time of  Julius Caesar.  In fact, some of the tools from ancient Rome—like their early plow—were superior to those that were used in America 18 centuries later. That was until the modern plow came along, of course. What Is a Plow? A plow (also spelled plough) is a farm tool with one or more heavy blades that breaks the soil and cuts a furrow (small ditch) for sowing seeds. An important piece of the plow is called a moldboard, which is a wedge formed by the curved part of a steel blade that turns the furrow. Early Plows Some of the first plows used in the United States were little more than a crooked stick with an iron point attached which simply scratched the ground. Plows of this sort were used in Illinois as late as 1812. Evidently, improvements were desperately needed, particularly a design to turn a deep furrow for planting seeds. Early attempts at improvement were often just heavy chunks of tough wood crudely cut into shape with a wrought-iron point and attached clumsily. The moldboards were rough, and no two curves were alike—at that time, country blacksmiths made plows only on order and few even had patterns for them. Additionally, plows could turn a furrow in soft ground only if the oxen or horses were strong enough, and friction was such a big problem that three men and several animals were often required to turn a furrow when the ground was hard. Who Invented the Plow? Several people contributed to the invention of the plow, with each individual contributing something unique that gradually improved the efficacy of the tool over time. Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson worked out an elaborate design for an effective moldboard.  However, he was too interested in other things besides inventing to keep working on agricultural tools, and he never attempted to patent his product. Charles Newbold and David Peacock The first real inventor of the practical plow was Charles Newbold of Burlington County, New Jersey; he received a patent for a cast-iron plow in June of 1797. However, American farmers mistrusted the plow. They believed it poisoned the soil and fostered the growth of weeds. Ten years later, in 1807, David Peacock received a plow patent and eventually procured two others. However, Newbold sued Peacock for patent infringement and recovered damages. It was the first patent infringement case involving a plow. Jethro Wood Another plow inventor was Jethro Wood, a blacksmith from Scipio, New York. He received two patents, one in 1814 and the other in 1819. His plow was cast iron and made in three parts so that a broken part could be replaced without purchasing a whole new plow. This principle of standardization marked a great advance. By this time, farmers were forgetting their former prejudices and were enticed to buy plows. Though Woods original patent was extended, patent infringements were frequent and he is said to have spent his entire fortune in prosecuting them. John Deere In 1837, John Deere developed and marketed the worlds first self-polishing cast-steel plow. These large plows made for cutting the tough American prairie ground were called grasshopper plows. William Parlin Skilled blacksmith  William Parlin of Canton, Illinois began making plows around 1842. He traveled around the country by wagon selling them. John Lane and James Oliver In 1868, John Lane patented a soft-center steel plow. The hard-but-brittle surface of the tool was backed by softer, more tenacious metal  to reduce the breakage. The same year, James Oliver—a Scottish immigrant who had settled in  Indiana—received a patent for the chilled plow. Using an ingenious method, the wearing surfaces of the casting were cooled more quickly than those of the back. The pieces which came in contact with the soil had a hard, glassy surface while the body of the plow was made of tough iron.  Oliver later founded Oliver Chilled Plow Works. Plow Advances and Farm Tractors From the single plow, advances were made to two or more plows fastened together, allowing for more work to be done with approximately the same amount of manpower (or animal-power). Another advance was the sulky plow, which allowed the plowman to ride, rather than walk. Such plows were in use as early as 1844. The next step forward was to replace animals that pulled the plows with traction engines. By 1921, farm tractors were both doing the work better and pulling more plows—50-horsepower engines could pull 16 plows, harrows, and a grain drill. Farmers could thus perform the three operations of plowing, harrowing, and planting all at the same time and cover 50 acres or more in a day. Today, plows are not used nearly as extensively as before. This is  due in large part to the popularity of minimum tillage systems designed to reduce soil erosion and conserve moisture.

Beauty Is No Longer A Personal Matter - 1202 Words

The definition of beauty is vague because beauty itself is a quite subjective matter. A certain features may be considered as beautiful to some, but not to others. It comes to a conclusion that beauty is defined by the society an individual belongs to. With the help of the mass media, a number of computer edited images are presented to the public, and these images are often promoted as â€Å"beautiful.† Many people seek to alter their appearances through surgeries, and some even become obsessed with the thought of beauty that they go through numerous surgeries in attempt to achieve the â€Å"perfect look.† These obsessive thoughts with regards to beauty can be explained through the interactionist perspective, in which shared meanings are established through the social interactions between individuals within a society. Beauty is no longer a personal matter, indeed it has become a form of judgment by other people. Every day, people are judged by their appearances, which t rigger the idea of altering the look and body to fulfill what other people consider as beauty. In fact, plastic surgery provides the perfect chance for individuals, who are not satisfied with their appearance, to make a change. Yet, it is a controversial topic because plastic surgery falls in a grey zone between necessity for victims of injuries and diseases and a cosmetic tool for those who simply do it to enhance their appearance. 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Satire Of Gullivers Travels Essay Example For Students

Satire Of Gullivers Travels Essay In Gullivers Travels, Jonathan Swift makes a satirical attack on humanity. In the final book, Swift takes a stab at humanity by simultaneously criticizing physiological, mental, and spiritual aspects of humans. Literary critics Ronald Knowles and Irvin Ehrenpreis both agree that the last book focused entirely on satirizing humanity. The Yahoo brutes that inhabit Houyhnhnm Land are a despicable species that have the physical appearance of humans. Though their behavior seems to be decadent and irrational, Swift shows that most of their behavior have parallels in the life of civilized humans. The Houyhnhnms seem to embody virtue and all the perfections that humans seek, but there are inconsistencies in their behavior that are reflective human faults. The Houyhnhnms do not look human in appearance, so Swift uses them to reveal hypocrisies of human thought. Throughout the book, Swift makes attacks on the religious perception of man; He also expresses disagreement with deist ideology. Ehre npreis and Knowles have very similar opinions concerning Book IV of Gullivers Travels, but Knowles expresses a more concrete interpretation of the satire. According to Ehrenpreis, Swift lived in John Lockes time, and takes many ideas of humanity from him. Locke said that humans tend to classify species as man by their physical appearance. If there was a man without reason, he would be a dull irrational man, and if there was an animal could express reason, they would be an intelligent and rational animal. To Ehrenpreis, the Yahoos embody an ironical reflection upon the fact that the bulk of unthinking men do in practice treat external shape as a sounder guide to humanity than reasonable conduct. Besides being more primitive than humans, Yahoos behave and function like civilized humans. Knowles points out that Yahoos fight with other groups and each other without apparent reason. Their avarice for certain shiny stones of no practical use lead to more fighting and theft. In more contemporary or civilized societies, those shiny stones can be paralleled to material possessions such as jewelry. Knowles observes that like humans, Yahoos suck the juice from a particular root that produces the same affect as alcohol. Similar to many humans, the Yahoos consumed the juices without temperance. Ehrenpreis thinks that Swift uses the Yahoos to as an example of Lockes suggestion that humans are more easily identified by vice than virtue. The Houyhnhnms seem to be reasonable, rational characters. They also seem to embody good virtues that humans strive to achieve. Ehrenpreis and Knowles both find inconsistencies in the depiction of Houyhnhnms. Ehrenpreis believes that the paradoxes in the writing are supposed to reflect paradoxes of human thought. When Gulliver first meets the inhabitants of Houyhnhnm Land, they are curious about the covering on his body. The Houyhnhnms are surprised when they first see him take off his hat; It is a reasonable and natural reaction since the Houyhnhnms do not wear clothing. Ehrenpreis argues that repeated occurrences show that Houyhnhnm thought revolves around being a horse. He thinks that is reflective of the anthropocentricity of humans. An example of the anthropocentricity of humans is the attempt to communicate with babies. A newborn does not know any human languages, but adults often assume that the baby is trying to talk to them when they make meaningless noises. Knowles thinks t hat the Houyhnhnms are not ideal characters, but reflections of humans. If the whinny, neighing like sounds are eliminated from Houyhnhnm, the word Hounum is a jumbled pronunciation of human. According to Knowles, the Houyhnhnm society implies that their beliefs ore founded on self-deception. The limits of my language mean the limits of my world. The Houyhnhnm language did not have negative words like war, deceit, and evil. By the quote above, Ludwig Wittgenstein suggests that Houyhnhnms could not have a true sense of good if they did not know what evil was. The Houyhnhnms also embody a sense of arrogance and bias that exists in humans. Their only sense of evil is in terms of the Yahoos. That is reflective of some governing institutions that blame others as the source of corruption and evil. Historically, groups like gypsies, Armenians, and Jews have fallen under that category of scapegoats. When the Houyhnhnms observe Gulliver, they immediately classify him as a Yahoo. By doing so, they do not act as rational creatures because they ignore the great number of differences and only observe superficial similarities. The idea of not being able to understand good without understanding evil can be explained in religious terms as well. .uf8a130240af89bd3ad7712166bf3da16 , .uf8a130240af89bd3ad7712166bf3da16 .postImageUrl , .uf8a130240af89bd3ad7712166bf3da16 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uf8a130240af89bd3ad7712166bf3da16 , .uf8a130240af89bd3ad7712166bf3da16:hover , .uf8a130240af89bd3ad7712166bf3da16:visited , .uf8a130240af89bd3ad7712166bf3da16:active { border:0!important; } .uf8a130240af89bd3ad7712166bf3da16 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uf8a130240af89bd3ad7712166bf3da16 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uf8a130240af89bd3ad7712166bf3da16:active , .uf8a130240af89bd3ad7712166bf3da16:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uf8a130240af89bd3ad7712166bf3da16 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uf8a130240af89bd3ad7712166bf3da16 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uf8a130240af89bd3ad7712166bf3da16 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uf8a130240af89bd3ad7712166bf3da16 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uf8a130240af89bd3ad7712166bf3da16:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uf8a130240af89bd3ad7712166bf3da16 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uf8a130240af89bd3ad7712166bf3da16 .uf8a130240af89bd3ad7712166bf3da16-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uf8a130240af89bd3ad7712166bf3da16:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Brave New World And The Giver: Similar Yet Differe EssayThroughout Book IV, there are many links to Christian ideas. Ehrenpreis thinks that Swifts writing plays off a debate between Locke and Stillingfleet over the definition of man. Stillingfleet uses a Trinitarian argument that defines man as a creature that enjoys a special subsistence. This definition is not practical because the special subsistence is not defined. Locke defines it as that faculty, whereby man is supposed to be distinguished from beasts, and wherein it is evident he much surpasses them. It seems that Swift does not support either argument, because the physical subsistence of man is embodied in irration al creatures, while the intellectual subsistence is embodied in a rational beast. Knowles shows that by giving a beast reason, Swift can point out the fallibility of Deist thought. Anthony Collins wrote, whosoever live by reason are Christians. Since the Houyhnhnms live by reason, then it can be implied that they are Christians. The ending of Book IV is another attack on Deist thought. The Deists thought that every Man is bound to follow the Rules and Directions of that Measure of Reason which God hath given him It is the mistake of wise and good men that they expect more Reason and Virtue from human nature, than taking it in the bulk, it is in any sort capable of. When Gulliver returned to England, he measures humans by Houyhnhnm standards of reason and virtue, and becomes disappointed because he expects Yahoo brutalism. Ehrenpreis has a different interpretation of the ending. He believes that the kind of influence the Houyhnhnms ideal virtues had on Gulliver is similar to the stri ct and perfect obedience to Christian ideals as would have been done in eighteenth century society. So Swift is saying, if men did practice Christianity in such a manner, they would destroy civilization as they knew it, in the same way Gulliver destroyed his family. Jonathan Swift uses a lot of satire in writing Gullivers Travels. Some of the satire is blunt and apparent. The Yahoos, with their exact likeness to humans in form, conveyed the degenerative nature of humans without civilization. At the same time, their presence also brings about the realization that even under the guise of civilization, humans are corrupt and decadent. The use of the ideal Houyhnhnms is deceiving. The apparent reason for using reasonable animals is to make the human-like Yahoos seem more irrational. From literary criticisms by Knowles and Ehrenpreis, it seems like the Houyhnhnms were used as objects of satire. What was not apparent, but pointed out by both critics was the fact that inconsistencies in the Houyhnhnm character are reflective of paradoxes in human thought. The only support Ehrenpreis gave was the parallel between the hippocentricity of the Houyhnhnms and the anthropocentricity of humans. Knowles used many examples from the book to support his ideas. The most subtle criticisms were made on religion. Ehrenpreis explanations mostly used supporting evidence from Locke. He used an argument against Trinitarianism and another on Christianity in general. Knowles explanation of the religious satire seemed more plausible because it was focused on Deism. He used works from many authors to first convey Deist ideals, then from examples in the book, tried to show the paradoxes. English Essays