A plow is a tool used to make furrows in the earth and to till crops.
A plow is a tool used in agriculture to create furrows in the earth and to till crops . The plow can be moved by mechanical action or through the force of an animal.
With the plow, ditches or gutters are created in the ground and the soil is removed. Once the plow has fulfilled its function, sowing begins. The action carried out with a plow is known as plowing .
History of the plow
The plow is one of the most important inventions in the history of agriculture , dating back several millennia BC; specifically, the oldest evidence of this tool dates back to the second half of the 4th century BC, in the Middle East ; thanks to its incorporation into agricultural activities, the work of workers became much easier, since until then they used shovels, picks and hoes to carry out the sowing of seeds.
The first ploughs were pulled by humans , who had to use a lot of force to move the mechanism across the field. Despite the physical effort that people from the lower classes had to make, sowing became much more profitable than before, and this translated into a benefit for everyone, to a greater or lesser extent.
The oldest ploughs were made entirely of wood. When the Romans introduced the use of an iron blade, they also began to use animals such as oxen, horses and mules to move the plough. From then on, manufacturers sought to adapt the design to the presence of draft animals. Although today it is common to use a tractor to pull the plough, horses are still used, something that is absolutely unnecessary given the technology available to us.
Plows drawn by horses, oxen and other species imply a case of animal exploitation.
Animal exploitation
It is very important to highlight that animal exploitation is a problem that needs to be solved, something that human beings should leave behind once and for all. Tractors are no longer a novelty or a luxury item, so their economic cost should not be an excuse to avoid them. Although horses, mules and oxen are much stronger than us, this does not mean that they should or want to undergo this type of work , and it does not mean that their bodies do not suffer after long hours of forced activities.
As with the replacement of traditional plows with motorized ones, there are other movements that focus on protecting animals from exploitation by offering businesses mechanical alternatives. For example, there are several initiatives that seek to eliminate the use of horses to pull the typical tourist carts in large cities; instead, they propose using motorized vehicles, even those that look like horses (although the latter is not exactly a very animalistic touch).
These modern ploughs, made of metal , are integrated into a chassis that is attached to the tractor. In the lower section there is a piece known as the swallow , which can be replaced since, with intensive use of the tool, it suffers significant wear.
Types of plows
Depending on the task they perform, there are different types of plows. The one that only works on the surface of the land is called a cultivating plow , since it prepares the land for sowing.
Other plows can turn the soil ( disc plow ), dig and move it ( moldboard plow ), or even create channels to help drain water ( break-up plow ).
A German company
Arado , finally, is the name by which the company Arado Flugzeugwerke was known.
This German company, dedicated to the manufacture of aircraft, was founded in 1925 and was in operation until 1945 .