The Cast Iron Plow

A bill has recently passed the Senate of the United States, and is now pending in the House of Representatives, to extend the patent of Jethro Wood for seven years, which he obtained in 1814, and renewed in 1819, claiming to have invented the cast iron Plowshare. This bill proposes to grant to the heirs of Jethro Wood, the privilege of exacting fifty cents from the manufacturer for every Cast Iron Plow made in the United States for seven years after the passage of the said bill.

As there are about four millions of farmers and planters at present in the United States, and as each would require on an average at least one plow every four years, this privilege would be worth half a million of dollars annually, all of which would be taken from the hard earnings of the farmer and planter. And what makes the matter more unjust is, that the interest of the heirs of Wood have been purchased for a mere song; thus nearly the whole benefit of it will inure to a company of greedy speculators.

But Jethro Wood, as I shall proceed to show, was not the original inventor of the Cast Iron Plowshare, nor did he ever improve the Plow in the slightest degree; he was consequently entitled to no merit in this thing, and much less to a patent: and had the fact been known by the Commissioner of Patents, in 1814, he would not have granted him one, or renewed it in 1819 neither would the United States Court have confirmed him in it after it had been granted.

The Cast Iron Plowshare was invented by Robert Ransom, of Ipswich, England, and he obtained a patent for it in 1785, twenty-nine years before Jethro Wood obtained his. The Cast Iron Plow, with the share and mouldboard in two parts, was kept for sale by Peter T. Curtenius in this city, as early as 1800; and in use in this neighborhood. Jethro Wood undoubtedly obtained his knowledge of the cast iron share, from one or the other of these for the Cast Iron Plow as a whole, and ii separate parts, will be found figured and described in almost every Encyclopedia, and work on agricultural implements, published in Great Britain, since 1790. These works soon found their way into the United States, and it can be proved by the testimony of the intimate friends of Jethro Wood, that he was familiar with these publications.

The history of the Cast Iron Plow and improvements are simply this.

James Small, a Scotchman, constructed a Cast Iron Plow on true mechanical principles as early as 1740, and was the first inventor of the cast iron mould board. Robert Ransom, of England, invented the cast-iron share in 1785. An English farmer in the County of Suffolk, invented the cast iron land side shortly after, so that as early as 1790, the Cast Iron Plow complete, in three distinct parts, was  well known and in use in Great Britain, and figured and described in nearly every work of any value since published on the subject of plows and agricultural implements.

Without any knowledge of these improvements of the Cast Iron Plow in England, Charles Newbold of New-Jersey, about the year 1790, took up the plow with a view of improving it in the United States. On the 17th of June 1797, he obtained a patent for the Cast Iron Plow skeleton, in one piece complete. Subsequently he made his plows with a cast-iron mould board and land-side, and attached a wrought iron share to it. Shortly after this, he still often spoke of further improving his plow, by substituting the cast-iron share. But having spent upwards of $30,000 in his improvements and efforts to introduce it into use in the United States and elsewhere, he got discouraged and gave up the business.

Peter T. Curtenius, as stated above, kept the Cast Iron Plow for sale in this City, the share and mould boards in separate parts, as early as 1800. Who was the manufacturer of these I am unable to learn.

In 1804, I think David Peacock, of New-Jersey, obtained a patent for a plow, the mould board and land-side of cast iron and in separate parts, the share of wrought iron steel-edged. He copied Mr. Newbold�s plow in part, and for the privilege of which he paid him $1,000.

In 1814 Jethro Wood obtained a patent for a plow, the mould-board land-side and share in three parts and of cast iron. He was familiar with Newbold�s and Peacock�s plows, and his was a bungling imitation of theirs, and not near so perfect in form and construction as the old Rotherham plow, which had been in use in Great Britain upwards of seventy years before ever Wood obtained his patent.

It is said that the Cast Iron Plow, in three parts, viz; mould board, land side and share was in use in Virginia previous to 1814, and that Wood was aware of it.

With these facts before them, the public will now see how great an injustice it would be for Congress to extend the patent of Jethro Wood, and give his heirs or rather a company of greedy speculators, the privilege for seven years, of exacting fifty cents per plow from every one engaged in their manufacture.

I hope these facts will be widely disseminated by the press throughout the United States; for the hard working farmers and planters ought to be immediately apprized of what so vitally concerns them. As the bill is still pending before the house of Representatives let all those opposed to injustice and special privileges take pains to call the attention of every member to the subject, so that the iniquitous measure may be defeated.

A. R. ALLEN

From Scientific American, 19 Feb 1848, Vol 3, No.22, p.171
Image of Jethro Wood's plow from Harper's New Monthly Magazine, December 1874

At a meeting of the Farmer�s Club, held in this city last week, Mr. Nicholas Lands, of N. J. a venerable farmer, confirmed all that we have already stated in regard to the inventor of the Cast Iron Plough. He stated that the first cast iron plough which he saw was in 1800, in this city and it was manufactured by Charles Newbold and sold for $10. It was cast all in one piece, mould board and share together. This was an evil in them as they sometimes broke and were difficult to repair If any man should have been rewarded for his invention, it was Mr. Newbold, but he was unfortunate, and alas, died insolvent and in a madhouse�the fate of not a few poor inventors. The first cast iron mould board was invented in 1740 by James Small, of Berwickshire, Scotland, and was good. Mr. Sands stated to the Club that he had found one of the ploughs before mentioned, in Orange county, and brought it to this city, depositing it in the well known Agricultural Warehouse of Mr. Allen, by whom it was again pronounced an excellent model, and, on trial, made perfect work. Mr. Sands thought the model now in
use varies very little from the first invention of Mr. Newbold. Jethro Wood, Mr. S. observed, got his patent because he had represented he had discovered an improvement on the share�a new combination of the parts; but at last he came back to Mr. Newbold�s original plan.

From Scientific American, 29 Apr 1848, Vol 3, No.32, p.250

A bill is now before the House of Congress to extend Jethro Wood�s Patent for a Cast iron Plow. A bill for this very object was defeated last Session, and here they are at are same job again. Farmers! look out for your
Representatives. When such bills come up they should send an address to their constituents, calling for meetings, without distinction of party, to hear their voice on the subject.

The bill has been laid on the table for the present.

From Scientific American, 7 Sep 1850, Vol 5, No.51, p.405

...Petitions for the extension of expired patents ...  if secured, may attain to the value of millions of dollars�such as Wood�s patent for the old cast iron plow, which, had it been extended by Congress, would have been
the means of unjustly taxing every farmer in our country.

From Scientific American, 23 Jan 1858, Vol 13, No.20, p.157

... One Jethro Wood had obtained, in 1819, letters patent for the construction of cast-iron plows, and they had been extended, in 1832, for an additional period of fourteen years. His heirs, represented by two good-looking, interesting young ladies and by a sharp attorney, sought, before the expiration of this extension, to have the patent again extended for seven years. It was shown that cast-iron plows had been patented in Great Britain in 1742 by a Scotchman named Small, and that Thomas Jefferson had made scientific experiments with iron mould boards soon after the Revolution. But the pertinacious solicitations of the young ladies for congressional support were seconded by the importunities of the lobby, stimulated by pledges of money, to be paid from the quarter of a million of dollars which it was estimated a renewal of the patent would secure to Wood�s heirs. It was only after a sharp debate, in which the iniquity of the proposed extension of the patent was developed, that the subject was laid on the table.

From Atlantic Monthly,  May 1881, Vol. 47, No. 283, p.659

LINKS:

Previous page

An article in Harper's New Monthly Magazine, December 1874, No. CCXCV, Vol. L. covers the history of the plow, with illustrations of the plows of its era.

A modern review of plows and plowing.

Reference: Historical First Patents, by Travis Brown (1994)