What is a plow among ancient people? A Brief History of the Plow

Agriculture is perhaps the oldest industry in the world. Historians generally agree that the earliest implementation of the plow was probably a stick or tree branch, not a dry one, that was used to raise the surface of the soil. It soon became apparent that the soil was getting better under cultivation and the quality of the crop was improving.
More than 4,000 years ago, the Egyptians began using plows not by hand, but by harnessing oxen, camels, and even elephants. With the help of animals, work became easier and faster, so more land could be cultivated and more crops could be grown.

The ancient Egyptians made significant progress in their design. They grew many varieties of crops in their dry arid climate by developing complex irrigation systems.

First improvement of the plow

The Greeks modernized the invention of the Egyptians and added wheels to the plow. They were known as crooked plows because the curved rods guided the animals.

The Romans were very efficient with their conquest of progress, but their plows were simple and crude in design. There was an attempt to change the design of the plow before the mid-1600s. Metal, rather than wood, was used for plows. Due to this, the plow became heavier, and thereby cultivated the land deeper.

Like our ancestors, we continue to strive for improvement. If we look at the development of the plow over the last 50 years, we see huge changes. The use of horses for plows became obsolete as more maneuverable tractors were invented in the early 1900s.

But for some, cultivating their garden plot with a tractor and plow is not entirely convenient, since not every plot can be accessed, and not everyone has this equipment. But we have an alternative to the plow, you can independently cultivate a large amount of land in a short time, you don’t need to ask anyone for help, it replaces several tools at a time. Here are several options for flat cutters that are used for different types of soils:

Try using this simple flat cutter and you won't want to go back to your usual tools.

To obtain a good harvest, it is necessary to create favorable conditions for plants and soil. The soil must contain nutrients and oxygen. This is done using a plow. In this article we will tell you what a plow is and what types of it are used most often.

Device Description

A plow is an agricultural machine that is used to plow the land. The principle of operation of the device is to crush the layers and then dump them to the bottom of the formed depression in the ground.

Important! To plow rocky soil, you should choose a unit that has a lever mechanism. If it is absent, the mechanism will run idle.

During the tillage process, obsolete crop residues fall deep into the ground. Before starting plowing, it is necessary to set the depth from 18 to 35 cm. This indicator depends on the agrotechnical timing.

The main parts of the unit include:

• working bodies and mechanisms;
• support wheels;
• towing device.

In operation, the main impact is on the frame, skimmer and knife plate.

Kinds

Depending on the purpose of the unit, there are different types of plows for. It is very important to choose the right mechanism for plowing - if you use an unsuitable device, the technology of sowing and growing plants may be disrupted.

By purpose

Before choosing a tool for processing, it is important to decide what exactly it is needed for. Based on the goals pursued, the following are distinguished: types of mechanisms:

• general purpose tool. As a rule, such a device has working parts with a standard working width, the size of which is 35 cm. It is used to cultivate old arable soils, on which they are subsequently sown.

• special purpose tool. This category includes planting and gardening units, mechanisms with the help of which rocky, shrub-marsh soils are cultivated, and the land under which is plowed is performed. Tiered-type units are used to cultivate chestnut and slate soils.

Different types of mechanisms have certain features in management and use, so it is important to know exactly what type of unit is needed in a particular case.

By type of traction used

Depending on the type of traction used, there are the following devices:

• horse plow. Such mechanisms are most often used in small areas due to the inability to transport a tractor unit to the site;
• tractor tiller. Used in most cases of soil cultivation, it is a modern plowing tool;
• rope traction opener. Such units are used for processing wetlands and in mountainous areas due to the lack of technical ability of the tractor device to function in such conditions.

Incorrect use of the mechanism will certainly lead to its breakdown, so it is important to select the device as correctly as possible for a particular area.

According to the coupling principle

Depending depending on the type of connection with the tractor, they are distinguished the following types of devices:

• mounted plow. It has a simple structure and relatively low weight. For the normal functioning of the mechanism, it is necessary to use a turning strip that has a small width. When in the transport position, devices of this type transmit a small tipping moment to the tractor;

Important! To ensure that dust gets into the plow bearings as little as possible, it is necessary to press an oil seal made from a piece of felt and a rubber cuff into the cap.

Most often in agriculture, mounted mechanisms are used.

According to the design of the plow body

Plow classification depending on the case includes mechanisms of the following types:

• ploughshares. The most common type of unit, which has been used since ancient times;
• disk. With the help of such a tool, heavy, dry and waterlogged soils in irrigated areas are plowed;
• combined and rotational. Specialized units used in rare cases for cultivating different types of soil. These devices must be subject to production testing prior to use.

Did you know? The first plow produced for sale was developed in 1730 in England.

• chisel. They are used quite rarely due to the absence of the main sign of plowing - formation turnover.

The most commonly used type is the plowshare. It is used on almost all types of soil intended for growing crops.

Material from Wikipedia - the free encyclopedia

Plow- an agricultural implement with a wide, often metal, ploughshare for basic soil cultivation - plowing the land. Plows are also called devices for working underwater, for laying cables, for preparing the earth's surface before sound probing and side-scan sonar when searching for oil. Initially, plows were pulled by people themselves, then by oxen, and even later by horses. Currently, in industrialized countries, the plow is pulled by a tractor.

The main task of the plow is to turn over the top layer of soil. Plowing reduces the number of weeds, loosens and makes the soil softer and more pliable, making further sowing easier. During the plowing process, annual weeds that have already begun to grow, but are not yet sufficiently strong, are damaged. In addition, the turnover of the soil layer promotes the movement of ungerminated weed seeds into the lower (deeper) layer of fertile soil, which, in turn, creates an additional obstacle to the germination of weeds - many seeds die. At the same time, weed seeds from previous years are raised, which have good germination.

History of the plow

It is known that people have always treated soil cultivation tools with great respect. Thus, in the Middle Ages, the theft of a plow was considered a serious crime and the thief was punished by being wheeled. It was impossible to take the plow as a mortgage. The one who stood behind the plow was considered an adult .

Pre-industrial era

When agriculture appeared, the land was cultivated by hand or with hoes on soft, fertile soils, such as on the banks of the Nile, where the annual floods of the river rejuvenated the soil and made it easier to cultivate. In order to regularly grow crops in less fertile areas, a lower layer of soil with nutrients needed to be raised to the surface.

Ancient forms of the plow are known to us from Babylonian and ancient Egyptian images, rock paintings in Northern Italy and Southern Sweden (dating back to the second millennium BC), as well as from finds of ancient plows in peat bogs in Poland. Earlier than the 1st millennium BC, the plow was known in China.

At the very beginning, dumps were made of wood in the form of an oblong quadrangle. They were attached to the stand in front, and to the back sole and to one of handles plow using a wooden or iron tie. Since the earth sticks to wood more strongly than to metal, later they began to make dumps from cast iron or iron and gave them a shape that was concave in places and convex in others, so that the dump looked like a curved helical surface.

The first commercially successful plow using iron parts should be considered " Rotterham plow", developed Joseph Fulge(Joseph Foljambe) in 1730 in Rotherham, England.

Industrial revolution

Steel plows appeared during the Industrial Revolution. They were lighter and stronger than those made of iron or wood. The first steel plow was invented by American blacksmith John Deere in the 1830s. By that time drawbar, attached to the animal harness, was adapted so that the wheel in front of the plow rolled along the ground. The first steel plows were operated by a man on foot. The manager walked behind the plow, holding two handles, and adjusted the direction and depth of the furrow. He also often directed the movement of animals pulling the plow. Later, plows appeared, where the manager was already sitting on a special seat on wheels, and the plow had several plowshares.

One horse can generally only pull the plow for one furrow on clean, soft soil. To cultivate heavier soils, two horses were required, one of which walked along the furrow and the other on the uncultivated ground. For plows that make two or more furrows, one or more horses must walk on free, unplowed land, and even this is difficult for them. Usually such horses are given a ten-minute rest every half hour.

A simpler system developed later uses a concave disk (or two) set at a high angle to the direction of travel. The concave surface keeps the disk in the ground unless something solid gets underneath it. When the plow hits a tree root or stone, the plowshare jumps, which made it possible to avoid breaking the plow and continue plowing.

Modern plow

Traditional plows can only turn the earth in one direction, indicated by the blade of the ploughshare. As a result of the action of the plow, ridges of plowed soil are formed between the furrows, similar to beds. This effect is also observed in some fields cultivated in ancient times.

Modern plows share:

• by type of working bodies- for ploughshares and disks;
• by type of traction- for tractors (mounted, semi-mounted and trailed), horse-drawn and rope;
• by number of working bodies- for single-, double- and multi-hull;
• by appointment- for basic plowing (general purpose) and special;
• by plowing method- for furrow plowing, working up and down (with the formation of felling ridges and split furrows), and for smooth plowing.

Modern reversible plows have double reversible plowshares: while one works on the ground, the second turns it over in the air (an erroneous judgment - at the current moment one set is working - the same as with a conventional plow). Reaching the edge of the field, the plow turns over under the action of hydraulics, and on the second return pass, new furrows fall off in the same direction as the first time - this avoids the formation of ridges.

The reversible plow does not perform any additional operations with the formation. Its use allows you to plow using the “shuttle” method - each subsequent pass is close to the previous one. To do this, you need two sets of plowshares of a “mirror” design on one frame. When passing through, one set works, the second “looks to the sky.” After passing and turning the unit, the “mirror” shares change places using hydraulics. This plowing scheme makes it possible to obtain a uniform plowed surface with ridges oriented in one direction (smooth plowing). In addition, time and fuel are saved on moving between paddocks.

When plowing with a conventional plow, half of the paddock has ridges to the right of the furrow, and half has ridges to the left. In this case, either a double ridge is formed in the center of the paddock (when plowing “dump”, when the unit starts moving from the middle of the paddock and moves in an expanding spiral), or a double furrow (when plowing “waddle”, when the unit starts moving at the edge of the paddock and walks in a tapering spiral).

The reversible plow is connected to the tractor using a three-point linkage. Conventional plows have 2 to 5 mouldboards, but semi-fixed plows, which are lifted by a wheel half the length of the plow, can have up to 18 mouldboards. The tractor's hydraulic system is used to lift and turn the plow and to adjust the width and depth of the furrow. The tractor driver still has to adjust the plow's clutch so that it goes at the right angle. On modern tractors, the plowing depth and angle are set automatically.

The purpose of plowing is to mix the layers of soil, enrich it with oxygen, and get rid of weeds and some bacteria. Buried weeds decompose in the ground and serve as compost.

Disc plow

Disc plow They are mainly used in the development of new territories for plowing new lands after clearing up forests, heavy, compacted, clogged with plants and swamp soils. The working bodies of this type of plow are spherical discs mounted on the plow frame, rotating on axles.

Shrub-marsh plow

Planting plow

The widespread spread of vineyards, fruit trees and forest plantations required the creation of a special plantage a plow that plows the ground to a greater depth than a conventional plow (up to 100 cm), which helps create more favorable conditions for the development of plant roots. A planting plow may have double shares at different depths, subsoilers and other working parts that deeply loosen the soil. The design of the plow makes it possible to improve the water regime of the soil and reduce the leaching of nutrients from the upper layers of the soil. Simultaneously with plantation plowing, organic and mineral fertilizers can be applied.

Longline plow

For two- and three-tier plowing of solonetzic and podzolic soils, a specially designed longline plow. For three-tier plowing:

• the front body removes the top layer of soil, wraps it and places it on the bottom of the furrow formed during the previous pass of the rear body;
• the middle body lifts the third layer and, together with the top layer lying on it, moves them to the side without turning them around;
• at the same time, the rear body lifts the second layer, wraps it around and drops it to the bottom of the furrow formed by the middle body.

During double-tier plowing

• or lay the top layer on the surface of the field, and the middle and bottom layers are mixed together,
• or the top layer is buried to depth, and the 2 lower layers are lifted to the surface without turning.

Garden plows

For plowing the soil between the rows of gardens, it is usually used garden plow, which is equipped with a special device - a device that provides lateral displacement of the plow relative to the longitudinal axis of the tractor, which allows you to cultivate the soil under the crowns of full-aged trees.

forest plow

A specially adapted device opens furrows for planting and sowing forest crops in ungrazed clearings. forest plow, equipped with a simultaneously working body with right- and left-turning blades, having a device for sowing coniferous seeds into the torn furrows.

Plow for plowing rocky soils

To cultivate rocky soils, a special plow is used, which is equipped with a lever mechanism for deepening the bodies when encountering an obstacle and deepening it after overcoming it.

The plow is equipped with a spring protection system, which serves to deepen the plow bodies when hitting obstacles (stones, flagstones and other objects) and automatically deepen them after overcoming the obstacles, as well as to ensure stable operation of the bodies when plowing soils of different mechanical composition, density and humidity. The plow is equipped with bodies with extended half-screw moldboards. The toe of the ploughshare is reinforced with a special chisel. All intensively wearing parts of the housings are made of high-quality steel and heat-treated.

The plow is equipped with a mechanism for changing the working width of the bodies (within 30-50 cm for each body), which allows you to adjust (depending on soil and climatic conditions) the working width of the plow, which helps to select the optimal operating mode of the tractor and save fuel consumption. Changing the working width is carried out using rods and the hydraulic system of the tractor.

Smooth plowing plow

On vast plains unprotected from the effects of wind erosion (the lands of Northern America, the virgin lands of Kazakhstan), the use of a traditional moldboard plow did not justify itself. Scientists have developed a moldless plow (flat cutter) especially for smooth plowing. Thus, to loosen the soil to a depth of 40 cm without turning the formation, bodies that do not have a blade are used.

Soil erosion

One of the negative consequences of plowing is soil erosion. Under the influence of water and wind, the earth moves, and the use of a plow contributes to this process. As a result of the uncontrolled use of agricultural practices, a wave of dust storms hit the United States in the 1930s.

Plow parts

19th century hand plow

Separately, the main parts of the plow (fig. on the right) perform the following work. Knife ( A) - cuts off the layer in a vertical plane. Share ( b) in a horizontal manner, wraps and loosens the formation - dump ( V). They are also joined by a field board ( G), giving the plow support in the vertical plane, the sole ( d), serving as a support for the plow from below and taking on the weight of the plow and the layer lying on it during operation; one or two racks ( e), to which the above-mentioned parts are attached on one side, and on the other - a beam ( and, drawbar), to which the harness roller is hooked from the front end and the regulator is attached ( And), and from the rear handle ( h). The last two parts serve to control the plow. Each plow is also accompanied by a wrench for unscrewing and securing the nuts, a hammer for riveting, and either a plow shoe, which is put on the ploughshare, or a plow skid, which is used to transport the plow from one place to another.

Varieties of plows in Russia in the 13th-20th centuries

In the European part of Russia, at least since the 10th century, the traditional “Great Russian” plow was most widespread, until its gradual replacement with an iron plow at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. In the Volga region, in the Urals and in most regions of Siberia, wheeled varieties of plows were widespread, such as the Little Russian wooden “ploughshare” plow and the “wheeled” saban.

In spiritual culture

In religion and mythology

In agricultural cultures, a plow or plow has enormous cult significance, since they participate in numerous rituals - for example, the “first furrow”. In mythological representations, the plow often acquires phallic symbolism, since it “fertilizes” Mother Earth. Related to this is the fact that in a traditional society it is usually only men who plow and sow, as carriers of the fertilizing principle.

Many Indo-European peoples have an archaic ritual of plowing. It is based on the association of a furrow made by a plow with the border separating sacred, “cultivated” space from the chaos of the environment.

Two mythological and ritual aspects of the plow were immediately reflected in the image of the Hindu goddess Sita. According to the Ramayana, she was born from a furrow that her father Janaka made with a plow, plowing a place for sacrifice. Even the name (Old Indian. Sītā) is translated as "furrow". On the other hand, the birth of Sita and her mentions in the Vedas speak of the connection of this goddess with fertility and Mother Earth, despite the fact that the plow has phallic symbolism.

In heraldry

The plow is used as an emblem of agriculture and as a symbol of new life. In the first years of the existence of Soviet Russia, the plow was used as an emblem of the working peasantry and at one time was depicted with a hammer, until it was replaced in this capacity by the sickle. The plow was also depicted on Soviet 1 ruble and fifty-kopeck coins in the 1920s; the silhouette of a plow was also depicted on the Order of the Red Banner and on medals in some Eastern European countries (for example, in Czechoslovakia in 1948-1989).

As an emblem of new life, the plow was used in the late 18th and early 19th centuries in North America, and is currently depicted on the state coat of arms of Liberia.

Also currently featured on the state seals of the US states of Pennsylvania, Oregon, Oklahoma, North Dakota, Nevada, Montana and Minnesota.

An image of a plow is present on the coat of arms of Petah Tikva.

In music

see also

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Notes

1. Ozhegov S. I. Dictionary of the Russian language. - 8th ed., stereotype. - M.: “Soviet Encyclopedia”, 1970. - P. 515. - 900 p. - 150,000 copies.
2. V. A. GORSKY.. School and work.
3. Klyuss G. A.// Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron
4. Karpenko N. A., Zelenev A. A., Agricultural machines, Moscow, 1968
8. Yu. Krasnov. Early history of the plow. "Soviet Archaeology", No. 1, 1986
9. Plow (agricultural implement) / Encyclopedic Dictionary of F. A. Brockhaus and I. A. Efron. - S.-Pb.: Brockhaus-Efron. 1890-1907.
10. Andyusev B. E. Siberian local history. Economy, life, traditions, culture of the old-timers of the Yenisei province of the 19th - early 20th centuries: A textbook for pupils and students. Ed. 2nd, rev. and additional - Krasnoyarsk: RIO KSPU, 2003. - 336 p. ISBN 5-85981-049-0
11. It is interesting that the Indo-European mythopoetic tradition often identified man and earth. For example, in many Indo-European languages, plant seeds and male seed are denoted by the same word, as is birth in humans and in the earth, as opposed to animals (the earth has fruit genus eat and gives birth at face ah, woman gives birth, and the animal kittens; man, earth and nature die, and the animal is dying).
12. See also: // Russian Ethnographic Museum
13. Propp V. Ya.

Literature

• Anuchin D. N.// Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
• Catalog of tractors, agricultural, earth-moving and reclamation machines, vehicles, machines and equipment for the mechanization of livestock farms, M., 1972.
• Klyuss G. A.// Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
• Agricultural machinery. Catalog, 3rd ed., M., 1967;

Excerpt characterizing the Plow

Soon after his admission into the brotherhood of Masons, Pierre, with a complete manual written for himself about what he was supposed to do on his estates, left for the Kyiv province, where most of his peasants were located.
Arriving in Kyiv, Pierre called all the managers to the main office and explained to them his intentions and desires. He told them that measures would be immediately taken to completely free the peasants from serfdom, that until then the peasants should not be burdened with work, that women and children should not be sent to work, that the peasants should be given assistance, that punishments should be used exhortations, not corporal ones, that hospitals, shelters and schools should be established on every estate. Some managers (there were also semi-literate economists) listened in fear, assuming the meaning of the speech was that the young count was dissatisfied with their management and withholding money; others, after the first fear, found Pierre’s lisp and new, unheard words funny; Still others simply found pleasure in listening to the master speak; the fourth, the smartest, including the chief manager, understood from this speech how to deal with the master in order to achieve their goals.
The general manager expressed great sympathy with Pierre's intentions; but he noticed that in addition to these transformations it was necessary to generally take care of matters that were in a bad state.
Despite the enormous wealth of Count Bezukhy, since Pierre received it and received, as they said, 500 thousand an annual income, he felt much less rich than when he received his 10 thousand from the late count. In general terms, he had a vague sense of the next budget. About 80 thousand were paid to the Council for all estates; It cost about 30 thousand to maintain a house near Moscow, a Moscow house and princesses; about 15 thousand went into retirement, the same amount went to charitable institutions; 150 thousand were sent to the countess for living expenses; interest was paid for debts of about 70 thousand; the construction of the begun church cost about 10 thousand during these two years; the rest, about 100 thousand, was spent - he himself did not know how, and almost every year he was forced to borrow. In addition, every year the chief manager wrote either about fires, or about crop failures, or about the need to rebuild factories and factories. And so, the first task that presented itself to Pierre was the one for which he least of all had the ability and inclination - getting busy with business.
Pierre worked with the chief manager every day. But he felt that his studies were not making any progress. He felt that his activities took place independently of the case, that they did not touch the case and did not force him to move. On the one hand, the chief manager presented matters in the worst possible light, showing Pierre the need to pay debts and undertake new work with the help of serfs, to which Pierre did not agree; on the other hand, Pierre demanded that the matter of liberation be started, to which the manager argued that it was necessary to first pay the debt of the Guardian Council, and therefore the impossibility of quick execution.
The manager did not say that this was completely impossible; To achieve this goal, he proposed the sale of forests in the Kostroma province, the sale of grassroots lands and Crimean estates. But all these operations in the speeches of the manager were associated with such complexity of processes, the lifting of prohibitions, demands, permits, etc., that Pierre was at a loss and only told him:
- Yes, yes, do that.
Pierre did not have that practical tenacity that would give him the opportunity to directly get down to business, and therefore he did not like him and only tried to pretend to the manager that he was busy with business. The manager tried to pretend to the count that he considered these activities very useful for the owner and shy for himself.
There were acquaintances in the big city; strangers hastened to get acquainted and cordially welcomed the newly arrived rich man, the largest owner of the province. The temptations regarding Pierre's main weakness, the one that he admitted during his reception to the lodge, were also so strong that Pierre could not refrain from them. Again, whole days, weeks, months of Pierre’s life passed just as anxiously and busyly between evenings, dinners, breakfasts, balls, not giving him time to come to his senses, as in St. Petersburg. Instead of the new life that Pierre hoped to lead, he lived the same old life, only in a different environment.
Of the three purposes of Freemasonry, Pierre was aware that he did not fulfill the one that prescribed every Freemason to be a model of moral life, and of the seven virtues, he completely lacked two in himself: good morals and love of death. He consoled himself with the fact that he was fulfilling another purpose - the correction of the human race and had other virtues, love for one's neighbor and especially generosity.
In the spring of 1807, Pierre decided to go back to St. Petersburg. On the way back, he intended to go around all his estates and personally verify what was done from what was prescribed to them and in what situation the people were now, which God had entrusted to him, and which he sought to benefit.
The chief manager, who considered all the ideas of the young count almost madness, a disadvantage for himself, for him, for the peasants, made concessions. Continuing to make the task of liberation seem impossible, he ordered the construction of large school buildings, hospitals and shelters on all estates; For the master's arrival, he prepared meetings everywhere, not pompously solemn ones, which, he knew, Pierre would not like, but precisely the kind of religious thanksgiving, with images and bread and salt, precisely those that, as he understood the master, were supposed to influence the count and deceive him .
The southern spring, the calm, quick journey in the Viennese carriage and the solitude of the road had a joyful effect on Pierre. There were estates that he had not yet visited - one more picturesque than the other; The people everywhere seemed prosperous and touchingly grateful for the benefits done to them. Everywhere there were meetings that, although they embarrassed Pierre, deep down in his soul evoked a joyful feeling. In one place, the peasants offered him bread and salt and an image of Peter and Paul, and asked permission in honor of his angel Peter and Paul, as a sign of love and gratitude for the good deeds he had done, to erect a new chapel in the church at their own expense. Elsewhere, women with infants met him, thanking him for saving him from hard work. At the third estate he was met by a priest with a cross, surrounded by children, whom, by the grace of the count, he taught literacy and religion. In all the estates, Pierre saw with his own eyes, according to the same plan, the stone buildings of hospitals, schools, and almshouses that were to be opened soon. Everywhere Pierre saw reports from managers about corvée work, reduced compared to the previous one, and heard touching thanks for this from deputations of peasants in blue caftans.
Pierre just didn’t know that where they brought him bread and salt and built the chapel of Peter and Paul, there was a trading village and a fair on Peter’s Day, that the chapel had already been built a long time ago by the rich peasants of the village, those who came to him, and that nine-tenths The peasants of this village were in the greatest ruin. He did not know that due to the fact that, on his orders, they stopped sending children of women with infants to corvee labor, these same children carried out the most difficult work in their half. He did not know that the priest who met him with the cross was burdening the peasants with his extortions, and that the disciples gathered to him with tears were given to him, and were bought off by their parents for a lot of money. He did not know that the stone buildings, according to the plan, were erected by their own workers and increased the corvee of the peasants, reduced only on paper. He did not know that where the manager indicated to him in the book that the quitrent was reduced by one third at his will, the corvée duty was added by half. And therefore Pierre was delighted with his journey through the estates, and completely returned to the philanthropic mood in which he left St. Petersburg, and wrote enthusiastic letters to his mentor brother, as he called the great master.
“How easy, how little effort is needed to do so much good, thought Pierre, and how little we care about it!”
He was happy with the gratitude shown to him, but was ashamed to accept it. This gratitude reminded him how much more he could have done for these simple, kind people.
The chief manager, a very stupid and cunning man, completely understanding the smart and naive count, and playing with him like a toy, seeing the effect produced on Pierre by the prepared techniques, more decisively turned to him with arguments about the impossibility and, most importantly, the unnecessaryness of the liberation of the peasants, who, even without They were completely happy.
Pierre secretly agreed with the manager that it was difficult to imagine happier people, and that God knows what awaited them in the wild; but Pierre, although reluctantly, insisted on what he considered fair. The manager promised to use all his strength to carry out the will of the count, clearly understanding that the count would never be able to trust him not only as to whether all measures had been taken to sell forests and estates, to redeem from the Council, but would also probably never ask or learns how the built buildings stand empty and the peasants continue to give with work and money everything that they give from others, that is, everything that they can give.

In the happiest state of mind, returning from his southern trip, Pierre fulfilled his long-standing intention to call on his friend Bolkonsky, whom he had not seen for two years.
Bogucharovo lay in an ugly, flat area, covered with fields and felled and uncut fir and birch forests. The manor's yard was located at the end of a straight line, along the main road of the village, behind a newly dug, full-filled pond, with the banks not yet overgrown with grass, in the middle of a young forest, between which stood several large pines.
The manor's courtyard consisted of a threshing floor, outbuildings, stables, a bathhouse, an outbuilding and a large stone house with a semicircular pediment, which was still under construction. A young garden was planted around the house. The fences and gates were strong and new; under the canopy stood two fire pipes and a barrel painted green; the roads were straight, the bridges were strong with railings. Everything bore the imprint of neatness and thrift. The servants who met, when asked where the prince lived, pointed to a small, new outbuilding standing at the very edge of the pond. Prince Andrei's old uncle, Anton, dropped Pierre out of the carriage, said that the prince was at home, and led him into a clean, small hallway.
Pierre was struck by the modesty of the small, albeit clean, house after the brilliant conditions in which he last saw his friend in St. Petersburg. He hurriedly entered the still pine-smelling, unplastered, small hall and wanted to move on, but Anton tiptoed forward and knocked on the door.
- Well, what's there? – a sharp, unpleasant voice was heard.
“Guest,” answered Anton.
“Ask me to wait,” and I heard a chair being pushed back. Pierre walked quickly to the door and came face to face with Prince Andrei, who was coming out to him, frowning and aged. Pierre hugged him and, raising his glasses, kissed him on the cheeks and looked at him closely.
“I didn’t expect it, I’m very glad,” said Prince Andrei. Pierre said nothing; He looked at his friend in surprise, without taking his eyes off. He was struck by the change that had taken place in Prince Andrei. The words were affectionate, a smile was on Prince Andrei’s lips and face, but his gaze was dull, dead, to which, despite his apparent desire, Prince Andrei could not give a joyful and cheerful shine. It’s not that his friend has lost weight, turned pale, and matured; but this look and the wrinkle on his forehead, expressing long concentration on one thing, amazed and alienated Pierre until he got used to them.
When meeting after a long separation, as always happens, the conversation could not stop for a long time; they asked and answered briefly about things that they themselves knew should have been discussed at length. Finally, the conversation gradually began to dwell on what had previously been said fragmentarily, on questions about his past life, about plans for the future, about Pierre’s travels, about his activities, about the war, etc. That concentration and depression that Pierre noticed in the look of Prince Andrei now was expressed even more strongly in the smile with which he listened to Pierre, especially when Pierre spoke with animated joy about the past or the future. It was as if Prince Andrei wanted, but could not, take part in what he said. Pierre began to feel that enthusiasm, dreams, hopes for happiness and goodness in front of Prince Andrei were not proper. He was ashamed to express all his new, Masonic thoughts, especially those renewed and excited in him by his last journey. He restrained himself, was afraid to be naive; at the same time, he irresistibly wanted to quickly show his friend that he was now a completely different, better Pierre than the one who was in St. Petersburg.
“I can’t tell you how much I experienced during this time.” I wouldn't recognize myself.
“Yes, we have changed a lot, a lot since then,” said Prince Andrei.
- Well, what about you? - asked Pierre, - what are your plans?
- Plans? – Prince Andrey repeated ironically. - My plans? - he repeated, as if surprised at the meaning of such a word. - Yes, you see, I’m building, I want to move completely by next year...
Pierre silently peered intently into the aged face of (Prince) Andrei.
“No, I’m asking,” said Pierre, “but Prince Andrei interrupted him:
- What can I say about me... Tell me, tell me about your journey, about everything you did there on your estates?
Pierre began to talk about what he had done on his estates, trying as much as possible to hide his participation in the improvements made by him. Prince Andrei several times suggested to Pierre what he was telling, as if everything that Pierre had done was a long-known story, and he listened not only not with interest, but even as if ashamed of what Pierre was telling.
Pierre felt awkward and even difficult in the company of his friend. He fell silent.
“But here’s what, my soul,” said Prince Andrei, who was obviously also having a hard time and shyness with his guest, “I’m here in bivouacs, and I came just to have a look.” I'm going back to my sister now. I'll introduce you to them. “Yes, you seem to know each other,” he said, obviously entertaining the guest with whom he now felt nothing in common. - We'll go after lunch. Now do you want to see my estate? “They went out and walked around until lunch, talking about political news and mutual acquaintances, like people who are not very close to each other. With some animation and interest, Prince Andrei spoke only about the new estate and building he was organizing, but even here, in the middle of the conversation, on the stage, when Prince Andrei was describing to Pierre the future location of the house, he suddenly stopped. “However, there’s nothing interesting here, let’s go have lunch and leave.” “At dinner the conversation turned to Pierre’s marriage.
“I was very surprised when I heard about this,” said Prince Andrei.
Pierre blushed the same way he always blushed at this, and hastily said:
“I’ll tell you someday how it all happened.” But you know that it's all over and forever.
- Forever? - said Prince Andrei. – Nothing happens forever.
– But do you know how it all ended? Have you heard about the duel?
- Yes, you went through that too.
“The one thing I thank God for is that I didn’t kill this man,” said Pierre.
- From what? - said Prince Andrei. – It’s even very good to kill an angry dog.
- No, killing a person is not good, it’s unfair...
- Why is it unfair? - repeated Prince Andrei; what is just and unjust is not given to people to judge. People have always been mistaken and will continue to be mistaken, and in nothing more than in what they consider just and unjust.
“It is unfair that there is evil for another person,” said Pierre, feeling with pleasure that for the first time since his arrival, Prince Andrei became animated and began to speak and wanted to express everything that made him what he was now.
– Who told you what evil is for another person? - he asked.
- Evil? Evil? - said Pierre, - we all know what evil is for ourselves.
“Yes, we know, but the evil that I know for myself, I cannot do to another person,” Prince Andrei said more and more animatedly, apparently wanting to express to Pierre his new view of things. He spoke French. Je ne connais l dans la vie que deux maux bien reels: c"est le remord et la maladie. II n"est de bien que l"absence de ces maux. [I know in life only two real misfortunes: remorse and illness. And the only good is the absence of these evils.] To live for yourself, avoiding only these two evils: that is all my wisdom now.
– What about love for one’s neighbor, and self-sacrifice? - Pierre spoke. - No, I cannot agree with you! To live only in such a way as not to do evil, so as not to repent? this is not enough. I lived like this, I lived for myself and ruined my life. And only now, when I live, at least try (Pierre corrected himself out of modesty) to live for others, only now I understand all the happiness of life. No, I don’t agree with you, and you don’t mean what you say.
Prince Andrei silently looked at Pierre and smiled mockingly.
“You’ll see your sister, Princess Marya.” You’ll get along with her,” he said. “Maybe you’re right for yourself,” he continued, after a short silence; - but everyone lives in their own way: you lived for yourself and you say that by doing this you almost ruined your life, and you only knew happiness when you began to live for others. But I experienced the opposite. I lived for fame. (After all, what is glory? the same love for others, the desire to do something for them, the desire for their praise.) So I lived for others, and not almost, but completely ruined my life. And since then I have become calmer, as I live only for myself.
- How can you live for yourself? – Pierre asked heatedly. - And the son, and the sister, and the father?
“Yes, it’s still the same me, it’s not others,” said Prince Andrei, but others, neighbors, le prochain, as you and Princess Mary call it, are the main source of error and evil. Le prochain [Neighbor] are those, your Kyiv men, to whom you want to do good.
And he looked at Pierre with a mockingly defiant gaze. He apparently called Pierre.
“You’re kidding,” Pierre said more and more animatedly. What kind of error and evil can there be in the fact that I wanted (very little and poorly fulfilled), but wanted to do good, and at least did something? What evil can it be that unfortunate people, our men, people just like us, growing up and dying without any other concept of God and truth, like ritual and meaningless prayer, will be taught in the comforting beliefs of a future life, retribution, reward, consolation? What evil and delusion is it that people die from illness without help, when it is so easy to help them financially, and I will give them a doctor, and a hospital, and a shelter for the old man? And isn’t it a tangible, undoubted blessing that a man, a woman and a child have no rest day and night, and I will give them rest and leisure?...” said Pierre, hurrying and lisping. “And I did it, at least poorly, at least a little, but I did something for this, and not only will you not dissuade me that what I did was good, but you will also not disbelieve me, so that you yourself do not think so.” “And most importantly,” Pierre continued, “I know this, and I know it correctly, that the pleasure of doing this good is the only true happiness in life.
“Yes, if you put the question like that, then that’s a different matter,” said Prince Andrei. - I build a house, plant a garden, and you are a hospital. Both can serve as a pastime. And what is fair, what is good - leave it to the one who knows everything, and not to us, to judge. “Well, you want to argue,” he added, “come on.” “They left the table and sat on the porch, which served as a balcony.
“Well, let’s argue,” said Prince Andrei. “You say schools,” he continued, bending his finger, “teachings and so on, that is, you want to take him out of his animal state and give him moral needs,” he said, pointing to the man who took off his hat and walked past them. , but it seems to me that the only possible happiness is animal happiness, and you want to deprive it of it. I envy him, and you want to make him me, but without giving him my means. Another thing you say is to make his job easier. But in my opinion, physical labor is the same necessity for him, the same condition of his existence, as mental labor is for me and for you. You can't help but think. I go to bed at 3 o’clock, thoughts come to me, and I can’t sleep, I toss and turn, I don’t sleep until the morning because I’m thinking and I can’t help but think, just as he can’t help but plow and mow; otherwise he will go to the tavern, or he will become ill. Just as I cannot bear his terrible physical labor and die in a week, so he cannot bear my physical idleness, he will get fat and die. Third, what else did you say? – Prince Andrei bent his third finger.

For several thousand years, agriculture remained by hoeing. In areas where the soils were soft (for example, in the Nile Valley or Mesopotamia), the hoe could be used to cultivate the field well. Therefore, agriculture began to develop rapidly here in ancient times.

However, the farmer's labor productivity was insignificant. Moreover, such favorable conditions were a rare exception. Typically, peasants had to raise virgin meadows overgrown with perennial grasses with powerful intertwined roots. For a man armed with only a hoe, these soils were a difficult, often insurmountable obstacle. There was a need for such a tool for cultivating the land, with the help of which it would be possible not to dig, but to cut the layers of turf from below. The plow became this tool.

Sokha. An ancient arable tool that did not turn over a layer of earth like a plow, but only rolled it to the side

The plow developed from a special tool of ancient farmers, which modern scientists dubbed the “furrow stick.” With the help of this stick, the farmer made furrows in the field, dividing it into ridges. A distinctive feature of these sticks was the working part, directed at an acute angle to the handle. Their use gave the ancient farmers the idea that the soil could be cultivated not by digging, as was done before, but by dragging. Then, apparently, the prototype of the plow appeared - a forked stick with a pointed end (here the drawbar and ploughshare are already visible in embryo). Harnessing himself into such a device, the farmer dragged it behind him, making a furrow.

Various types of "furrow sticks" - predecessors of early plows (4 thousand BC)

Of course, such a tool could only be used on very soft soils, already loosened by many years of cultivation, where there were no stones or turf. In order to plow harder soils, it was necessary to increase the pressure on the ploughshare. This is how the handle was invented. A further improvement of this arable tool can be observed in one ancient Assyrian monument. It was already a plow in the full sense, having all three of its main parts: a drawbar, a ploughshare and a handle. In this form, it required two workers: one to drag the plow, and the other to guide it and hold it in the ground. All early plows were driven by human power.

Plowing with a plow, Ancient Egypt

Of course, the peasant was burdened by such work, and after some time he began harnessing oxen to the plow. At first, people simply tied the plow to the horns of oxen; later a yoke and primitive harness appeared. The speed of cultivating the land immediately increased several times, and the work itself became easier.

The first plows were made from the rhizomes of oak, beech, maple and some other trees and were solid pieces of wood. Then they began to strengthen the ploughshare with iron. Many years passed before further improvements were made in the plow. In the writings of Pliny, a Roman writer of the 1st century AD, we find a description of a plow, which, unlike its predecessors, is equipped with a wheel, a knife and moldboards. The wheel prevented the plow from going too deep into the ground, and the knife served to cut the turf.

Ancient plows discovered in peat bogs in Jutland and Germany

An important innovation was the blade. The purpose of the blade is to turn over the turf that has been cut by the knife and ploughshare. A plow without a moldboard only loosened the ground when moving. The blade turned the turf over so that the weeds were buried underground. The invention of the moldboard was a huge event in the history of the plow. The plow existed in this form until the end of the Middle Ages, when new improvements were made to it.

Plows of various designs

The spread of the plow with an iron share made a radical revolution in agriculture. Plow farming transformed agriculture, was its highest achievement and greatly contributed to the emergence of many civilizations of the Old World.

The advantage of plow farming over hoe farming is so obvious that in the minds of ancient people its invention was the work of the gods. The Egyptians considered the plow a gift from Osiris, the Greeks - from Pallas Athens, the Indians - from Agni, and the people of China - from the divine Shenpungu.

tool for tillage. Loosening the soil, turns it over and mixes it. It consists of a ploughshare - cutting the soil layer from below, a knife - cutting off the layer from the side and a blade, which received and turned over the cut layer. In the century XIX - AD. XX centuries plows were divided into harness and steam; for single-sided dumping, double-sided dumping and without blade. In the late 19th century. in Russia the plow replaced the plow.

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PLOW

Luke 9:62). Cultivation of the land by means of the plow is mentioned already in the time of Job. He is also mentioned in Genesis 45:6. Taking into account the patterns of the coulter and cutter in the plow, it is easy to see the almost literal fulfillment of the prophecies of the prophet. Isa 2:4 and Jol 3:10. Monitoring the progress of the plow along the ground required careful and steady attention. Its manager had to constantly look forward and not look back. That is why the Lord Savior says: “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62).

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Plow

euro Maharesha. The plow has been an agricultural tool since ancient times (Gen. 45:6; Deut. 22:10; Job 1:14). In the beginning, the plow was probably a part of a tree trunk with two branches extending to the sides; similar primitive plows are still used in Egypt. The plowshare was often covered with iron or made entirely of iron (Isa. 2:4; Joh. 3:10). The farmer guided the plow with one hand, and with the other he held the rod (a sharpened pole) to drive the animal. Armed with such a goad, Samegar killed 600 Philistines (Judges 3:31). If the animal did not move and resisted, the goad would stick into its body, which is where the expression “go against the gore” came from (Acts 26:14). The plows were harnessed to oxen, donkeys and bulls. Animals of different breeds could not be harnessed together (Deut. 22:10).

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PLOW

(English plough, German Pflug), a tool designed to loosen the earth, was dragged across the field with the help of a pair of oxen (sometimes other animals or people). The plowman drove the team from behind. There are two main types of P., the earlier one, which developed from a hoe (ard), loosens the soil, but does not turn over the layer. In this case, it becomes necessary to re-plow at right angles to the first. This type of P. originates in the Middle East, its images go back to the 4th millennium BC. Here and in the Mediterranean it is still used for plowing thin layers of soil. Traces of plowing have recently been identified in the Neolithic of Northwestern Europe. The later type of P., heavier, with wheels, equipped with a device for turning the layer, appears no earlier than the beginning of our era. It is more suitable for the heavy soil of Europe. The absence of draft animals in America determined the absence of P. here.

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Plow

agricultural a tool for plowing the soil, the oldest images of which are on black-figure ceramics. Antique P. loosened the soil, but did not turn the layer over. A metal plate was attached to the front end of the oak sole. a symmetrical ploughshare, with a handle attached to the back, with which the plowman pressed P. to the ground. There was a bend (arc) in the center of the sole: a drawbar for a pair of oxen or mules was inserted into it and could be secured. The narrow ploughshare made only a flat furrow, raised the soil and crushed it. The layer of earth had to be broken up for its intended purpose. for this purpose, with a hammer, although plowing was carried out three times. Single asymmetrical ploughshares appeared, obviously, from the Hellenistic era. time. Only in the era of the Roman Empire was the inclined position of the ploughshare applied, which was achieved by one-sided pressing on the handle and made it possible to turn over a layer of earth. However, the plowing was shallow. Wheel limbers, common in Greece at the beginning of the century. e., to which an asymmetrical inverting P. was already attached, first penetrated into northern Italy in the 4th century. n. e. When there was a shortage of harrows, P. was also used for harrowing the soil.

rice. A. Plow approx. 550 BC e.: 1 - sole; 2 - ploughshare; 3 - handle; 4 - handle; 5 - bend; 6 - drawbar; 7 - fastening checks. B. Etruscan plows around 350 BC. e.: 8 - yoke for oxen; 9 - pointed driver's pole. C. Various Hellenistic-Roman plowshares: 1, 2 - symmetrical plowshares for a five-wheel plow; 3 - asymmetrical ploughshare for a rotary plow (with a still incomplete dump of the formation). D. Ploughshares from the Roman provinces: 1, 2 symmetrical plowshares with a metal blade shoe on a shortened sole.

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Plow

With the transition to agriculture, people arose a need for special tools for cultivating the soil. The first such tool was a wooden hoe, later replaced by a metal one.

The hoe was replaced by a plow. Initially it was made entirely of wood, then it began to be equipped with iron tips.

Iron openers (ploughshares or ploughshares) were used for horizontal cutting of a layer of earth, which was then lifted by them and moved to the platform or dump. Each of them had a sock, a feather and a pipe, or trumpet. The stake openers had a very narrow feather (4.5–5 cm) or no feather at all. The feather openers were wider than the stake openers (15 cm). Their feather had the shape of a right triangle. The tube consisted of an upper surface and girths, with the help of which the opener was mounted on the “leg” - the lower narrowed part of the bifurcation at the bottom. The openers were installed side by side, not horizontally to the soil, but in an inclined position. The distance between them in a simple plow was usually approximately 4.5 cm. The surface of the openers did not lie in the same plane, but formed a groove so that the layer could be cut from the side. The length of both openers was the same and, together with the tube, was usually 33 cm.

The rassokha, the main part of the plow body, was a long wooden board with forked legs at the bottom, on which coulters were mounted. The rassokha was strengthened with its upper part between the core and the roller or hammered into the bagel, namely below the middle of its length it was pulled at an angle of 42–50° motionless to the shafts by the rootstocks. At the bottom, the crack bent strongly forward. This curvature varied in different designs. The depth of the concavity near the beard reached 18 cm. The length of the entire crack, including the shoulders, was usually 117 cm.

The police served to lift and turn over the earth cut by the coulters and was an iron oblong blade, narrowed downward, with a handle and sides bent down to encircle the tube of the coulter, on which it stood with its lower edge. The handle was solid, iron or, more often, wooden, cheaper. The pole was usually strengthened with a handle in a transverse rope that connected two stocks, and the plowman could move it from the right coulter to the left. If a policewoman stood on the left plow, her right side tilted to the right and stood much lower than her left, causing the earth to fall to the right. When the police stood on the right plough, her left side lowered and the earth fell to the left. At the beginning of each furrow the line was rearranged.

The rootstocks served for a more durable installation of the plowshare and to regulate the depth of plowing by changing the angle formed by the plowshare with the shafts. The rootstocks consisted of a vitsa - a wooden rod or a thick rope, twisted from two or three thin ropes, and going around the back of the soil, slightly above the groove. In front of the dry rootstocks, the rootstocks were tied together with a rope (collar) and tied at the ends to the shafts and to the crossbar. To increase or decrease the length of the rootstocks, levers or rivets were inserted into them, through which the ropes could be twisted or untwisted.

A horse was harnessed to a shaft with or without an arc, or hob. The clamp tugs were attached to pegs at the front end of the shaft, or hoop. Shafts were made from straight or round beams. Near the cracker, the shafts were thicker and ended in hooks with upward bends, on which a roller was placed, which served to strengthen the upper end of the cracker. Sometimes the roller was tied to the shafts with ropes. The shafts near the crack were connected to each other with a transverse pine cushion (board or bark), and at some distance from the crack - with a block.

Feather plows were used to plow chernozem and floodplain soils, with the exception of the loosest and most dense ones. They were also used along with stake plows on light loamy soils.

On old arable lands with three fields, two-tooth plows with a low attachment of traction force predominated. Two-toothed plows were without poles, with reversible poles and with fixed poles or blades.

The plow arose in ancient times as a development of the plow. The main parts of the plow are the ploughshare and the moldboard.

The usual shape of the ploughshare is in the form of a right triangle. However, there are plowshares of other shapes (trapezoid, quadrangle). The ploughshare cuts the soil from below and, when the plow moves, feeds it onto the moldboard, a curved surface, moving along which it turns around, crumbles and falls in a fragmented form into the furrow. Most plows have a blade that cuts a vertical layer from the unplowed part of the field. For greater stability in work, the plow has a heel and a field board. All these parts make up the body of the plow and are attached to the so-called beam, to which other parts of the plow are attached - the knife, handles, and the limber.

Back at the beginning of the 18th century. In England and other European countries, a wooden single-blade horse-drawn plow, invented at the end of the 17th century, was widespread. in Holland. All parts of the plow, except the ploughshare, were wooden. The depth of the plow did not exceed 10 cm.

Such a plow could only be used on small plots of land. It was not suitable for a relatively large English farm. When cultivating large areas of land, the wooden parts of the plow quickly wore out. Therefore, the main task of its improvement was the desire to find a material that would ensure a longer service life of the tool.

In Russia, work on improving the plow has been going on since the end of the 18th century. The Free Economic Society twice, in 1773 and 1791, announced a competition to create the best plow. At the beginning of the 19th century. Front plows designed by Lukyan Rudnitsky, Trofim Petrenko and a limbless plow were common.

In the 30s of the XVIII century. In Scotland, a plow appeared in which the most wearing parts - the ploughshare and the moldboard - were made entirely of iron. For some time in England, and then in the USA, so-called iron plows were common. However, they were not very durable, and their ploughshare wore out quickly.

In 1803, Englishman Robert Ranson made a one-piece plow from cast iron. Although this increased its strength, the cast iron plow was only suitable for plowing black soil. When cultivating clay soil, he got stuck in it, and slid on sand. Therefore, Ranson's plow was not widely used.

In 1819, the American farmer P. Wood designed a cast iron plow of the original type. This plow was made of cast iron, and all its parts were made separately. As individual parts wore out, they could be replaced with others. However, cast iron plows had some significant disadvantages: the plowshares soon became dull when cultivating loose soil, and cast iron broke in rocky, hard soil.

In 1833, blacksmith John Len from Chicago inserted a sharp steel blade in a cast iron frame into the ploughshare of a wooden plow. This was the first step towards making a one-piece steel plow.

Also in 1833, blacksmith John Deere created the first all-steel plow in the USA. At first, plows were made from the so-called saw steel, which was considered the most durable, but then, in 1868, the American William Morison received a special plow steel, from which plows began to be made.

Along with the search for new material for making the plow, work was going on to improve its design. Already by the 30s of the XIX century. the most appropriate plow design was developed. Depending on the purpose, they began to produce special plows - single and multi-share, hillers, subsoilers, cultivators, etc. All this made it possible to achieve deeper plowing, reaching up to 30 cm, turning over and crumbling the soil layer, as well as significantly increasing the area cultivated plow

The last stage in the evolution of the plow was associated with the use of the steam engine as draft power. The idea of ​​using a steam engine in agriculture arose at the end of the 18th century. James Watt also worked in this direction. However, the steam engine entered agricultural practice only in the 60s of the 19th century.

In 1855, English farmers Fowler and Howard developed the most suitable combination of a steam engine and a plow. This made it possible to create a plow of a very advanced design. The depth of plowing with a steam plow reached 48 cm. The average wheat yield in areas where the steam plow was used increased by 24%. The steam plow plowed from 2 to 9 dessiatines per day, while the horse-drawn four-blade plow plowed no more than 1.5–2 dessiatines. By the 80s of the XIX century. The steam plow began to be widely used in large landowner and capitalist agricultural enterprises.

By the 70s of the XIX century. in the agriculture of various countries there were plows of a wide variety of designs. In each country, depending on the climate, soil, socio-economic conditions, and the level of development of mechanical engineering, a variety of types of plows were produced and used, adapted to the specific conditions of a given country.

With the advent of tractors, special multi-body plows were designed, first trailed and then mounted. They allow you to cultivate large areas of land.

Modern plows are divided into plowshare, disk, rotary and combined. In addition to plows for regular plowing, there are planting plows for deep plowing, as well as special plows: garden plows, shrub plows, swamp plows, for three-tier tillage, moldboardless and disc plows.

Moldless plows loosen the soil without lifting the layer. They have become widespread in places where there is little moisture and there is no need to turn over the cut layer. In addition, they are used where there is a risk of soil erosion.

In disc plows, the working part is a sharp plate-shaped disc. When moving the plow, the disc cuts, lifts, and crumbles the soil layer.

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