A beam, to which the power is attached by which the plow is drawn.  Some plows have wooden beams and others have iron beams.

Handles by which the plowman guides and steadies the plow and also turns it at the corners of the plowed ground in going about the field.

A clevis, which is attached to the end of the beam and is used to regulate the depth of plowing.  To the clevis is attached a draft ring or shackle, to which the horse or team is fastened.  To make the plow run deep the draft ring or shackle is placed in the upper holes or notches of the clevis; to make it run shallow the ring is placed in the lower holes.  On some plows there are only notches in the clevis for holding the ring, they answer the same purpose as holes.  The clevis is also used on some plows to regulate the width of the furrow.  By moving the draft ring or shackle towards the plowed land the plow is made to cut a wider furrow, moving it away from the plowed land causes the plow to cut narrower.

Some plows have a double clevis so that the draft ring may be raised or lowered, or moved to right or left.  With some plows the width of the furrow is adjusted by moving the beam at its attachment to the handles.

A share, called by some the point, which shears the bottom of the furrow slice from the land.  The share should be sharp, especially for plowing in grass land and land full of tough roots.  If the share, particularly the point, becomes worn so that it bevels from beneath upwards it will be hard to keep the plow in the soil, for it will tend to slide up to the surface.  If this happens the share must be renewed or sharpened.  Plows are being made now with share and point separate, and both of these reversible (Fig. 51), so that if either becomes worn on the under side it can be taken out and turned over and put back and it is all right, they thus become self-sharpening.

A mouldboard. This turns and breaks the furrow slice.  The degree to which the mouldboard pulverizes depends on the steepness of its slant upward and the abruptness of its curve sidewise.  The steeper it is and the more abrupt the curve, the greater is its pulverizing power.  A steep, abrupt mouldboard is adapted to light soils and to the heavier soils when they are comparatively dry.  This kind of a plow is apt to puddle a clay soil if it is quite moist.  For breaking new land a plow with a long, gradually sloping share and mouldboard is used.

A landslide, which keeps the plow in place.

A coulter. Some plows have a straight knife-like coulter (Fig. 52) which is fastened to the beam just in front of the mouldboard and serves to cut the furrow slice from the land.  In some plows this is replaced by an upward projection of the share; this is wide at the back and sharp in front and is called the shin of the plow from its resemblance to the shin bone.  The coulter is sometimes made in the form of a sharp, revolving disk (Fig. 53), called a rolling coulter.  This form is very useful in sod ground and in turning under vines and tall weeds.  It also lessens the draft of the plow.