This Scotch Pattern Walking Plough
from the early 1900s
is named after its decorative striped design,
which originated in the blacksmith shops of Scotland
and was imported to Canada by
Scottish immigrant farmers and blacksmiths.
Manufactured by the McCarthy Foundry
in Kenmore, Ontario,
this example is in pristine condition
because it was only shown
at agricultural fairs
where advances in farming equipment
were on display.
As workhorses pulled this plough
through the earth,
farmers controlled
the depth, angle and direction
at which the plough moved.
The plough has multiple surfaces
that work together
to lift and turn over the soil.
The knife coulter in the front of the plough
cuts vertically to loosen the ground.
Then the pointed horizontal blade
of the share slices through the soil,
lifting it up and directing it along
the curved surface of the mouldboard
which rolls and flips the earth.
This results in the exposure
of the nutrient-rich soil.
Farmers used the walking plough
until the advent of riding ploughs
in the early twentieth century.  
