Get plough to the field, and
be sowing of rye." (Tusser) The ploughing had to be done as quickly as possible - which was not quick at all by modern standards - so the ploughman (or horseman, as he was known in Suffolk) would rise at 4.30 a.m. to have himself and the horses ready for a 6.30 start.
Two horses were usually used, and they would plough between ¾ and 1 acre in a day, according to how 'heavy' (clayey) the soil was. The aim, according to Thomas Tusser, was to complete the work in November:
"Now plough up thy headlond, or delve it with spade,
Where otherwise profit but little is made."
The headland was the area where the horses turned round at the edge of the field, and this had to be ploughed last.
Horsemen took great pride in their skill, competing keenly in the ploughing competitions that were held regularly.
Suffolk companies were in the lead in introducing iron ploughs at affordable prices, as is recounted in the Competition section of Made in Suffolk.
Once the fields had been ploughed, they had to be harrowed, to get a fine, level surface of soil - as is achieved by raking in the garden.
Both ploughing and harrowing were done with horse drawn equipment, until steam power was introduced on some farms in the 19 th century. Contractors would bring two standing engines to the larger farms and winch the plough back and forth between them. Tractors came into use before the First World War (1914-1918), but were not universally used until the 1950s .
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