Often the fields were not plowed in the fall, especially fields planted to corn which was usually not harvested until after freeze-up. In the spring when the snow had melted and the fields were dry enough, they had to be plowed to prepare them for planting. The plow had a sharpened plowshare that cut through a few inches below the surface, with the curved mole board turning the soil over and burying the plant refuse from the previous year. In, 1837, the steel mole board was developed by John Deere. Unlike wooden or iron ones, it could cleanly plow the heavy prairie soil.
The Museum has two examples of “walking plows.” One has a wooden beam supporting the plowshare, the other a steel beam. As the name implies, the farmer walked. A team of horses were hitched to the front of the plow with the farmer walking behind with the reins tied together and loosely draped loosely draped over one shoulder and under the opposite arm, so the reins could be quickly shrugged off if something went amiss. He used the handles to control the depth and direction of the plow. At the far end of the field, the horses would be stopped to rest a little, then turn around and go back, leaving about a two-foot width of plowed field on each round (trip). The horse and farmer would walk about eight miles to plow an acre, and in a day one to two acres could be plowed. The measure of a farmer was how straight and even the furrows were plowed. Later plows had wheels, two or more mole boards (bottoms) and a seat for the farmer. However, these plows required more horses to pull it.
Sources:
Hiram M. Drache, The Impact of John Deere’s Plow. Historical Research and Narrative https://www.lib.niu.edu/2001/iht810102.html
John Deere and the self-polishing plow. https://www.rutlandherald.com/john-deere-and-the-self-polishing-plow/article_8d575eaa-7a1f-55b0-bb74-c2d75ea928d0.html
Lynn R. Miller, Work Horse Handbook. Small Farmer’s Journal, Inc. 1981.
Maurice Telleen, The Draft Horse Primer. Rodale Press. 1977.
The Operation, Care, and Repair of Farm Machinery, 19th ed. John Deere Company.