Primitive agricultural implements for cultivating the land were widespread in Ancient Rus. The low technical effect of the plow and plow did not allow growing high grain yields, however, in the absence of a plow, the poor peasants had to make do with them exclusively.
Russian agriculture
Prior to the October Revolution, peasants from the southern black earth regions used the so-called supravka, acquiring a plow and cultivating the land together with the help of all the working animals they had. However, most often the peasants had to do with one horse, which could not be shouted with a heavy plow with an iron ploughshare, so a plow or a wooden ral of their own production was used instead.
The iron plow could be found mainly among the more prosperous peasants, since it cost a lot.
Since the land in Ancient Russia was not fertilized, the efficiency of the ral and plow was very low - these single-toothed and two-toothed tools only slightly loosened the top layer of the soil, while only a plow could turn it over. The plow and plow differed from the plow by the steepness of the installation of the working elements and the absence of a sole. The plow was best suited for plowing potato beds, being the most convenient and effective tool for this activity.
Using a plow
Since ancient times, the plow has been the most common agricultural tool among peasants, since it was a fairly light tool and was ideal for loosening the soil. When using it, the horse was harnessed to shafts with a wooden board attached to them. The lower end of the ridge consisted of from two to five openers, at the end of which there were small iron tips-naralniki. In some varieties of the plow (three- and five-tooth), the openers looked like long sticks, independently attached to the implement.
According to historians, a plow with the use of draft animal power was used as far back as the II-III millennium BC.
After the fields began to be cultivated every year, the peasants needed a tool not only to loosen the soil, but also to roll off the layers of earth. For this, the two-toothed plow was improved - it was supplemented with a small police shovel, when moving the slope of which the peasant could direct the earth layer to the right or left. Thanks to this, the horse could be turned and put into a freshly made furrow, while avoiding breakup and fall furrows. Due to such an improvement, the plow held out in agriculture for quite a long time - moreover, even the weakest and most worn-out horse of a poor peasant could drag it.
