A Single Furrow Plough and a Drill Plough (above) are on display in the grounds of The Ballance House. Both were pulled by a horse and would have been typical of ploughs used on virtually every farm until the advent of the tractor. Ploughs were widely manufactured with J & T Young of the Vulcan Works in Ayr a popular brand in Ulster.
A plough is a bladed instrument used to turn over the surface of the ground and bury the grass or stubble. Thus allowing the farmer to create a seed bed for the next crop being sown in that field. The drill plough was used to clean up the potato drills, for example, and help control weeds in root crops.
Ploh, pflug, ploeg or plogr?
The origin of the word plough is difficult to determine as throughout Europe the spelling is similar – ‘ploh’, ‘pflug’, ‘ploeg’, ‘plogr’ and old Saxon ‘plog’.
What is known is that ploughs have been in use for over 4,000 years by civilisations such as the Greeks, Romans and Chinese. A plough pulled by an ox or an equine being a major step forward in cultivation from using a basic hand tool. Thus increasing food production and allowing these great civilisations to develop.
Ploughs, including some with wheels are seen illustrated on many ancient monuments and on the Bayeux Tapestry where the Saxons and Normans alike clearly aimed to get their crops sown each spring in well ploughed ground before going to war.
In the 17th and 18th century the Dutch and Scots developed robust metal ploughs with strong mould boards to which a coulter was added to slice into the ground. These gradual advances meant ploughing could, in many areas, become a one man with one horse operation. An acre a day being reckoned a good day's work on a typical lowland Ulster farm.
Many leading agricultural engineers such as John Deere played a part in the development of the modern plough. Deere, famed as the tractor magnet, also designed a strong, long wearing sock for the plough.
Local Inventor Harry Ferguson
When tractors first appeared converted horse ploughs were used until Harry Ferguson of Growell, near Dromore, Co Down developed the three point linkage. (Click here for the Ferguson Family Museum website). This totally revolutionised how implements were attached to the tractor allowing ploughs to be raised and lowered at the end rigg. Gone was the single furrow plough with patient horse and ploughman. Multi furrow ploughs became the norm as Harry Ferguson's engineering skill boosted world food production.
Having grown up on a small farm and come to hate the drudgery of hard physical work in field and farmyard Harry was determined to dramatically improve the life of farming families.
Today the ancient skills of the ploughman are demonstrated at ploughing matches often using a mixture of ancient and modern equipment. A World Ploughing Championship is held each year in a different host nation with the NI team enjoying success in 2018 when Thomas Cochrane took the reversible champion's award.
References:
History of Ploughing, National Museums of Scotland
A History of Irish Farming 1750 – 1950 by Well and Watson, Four Courts Press
Memories from the Farmyard by Paul Callaghan, FarmWeek columnist, Published by Colourpoint Books, Newtownards, Co Down NI
