General Information

Serial #

71#1

Part Number

1

Total Parts

3

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

Metal/ synthetic/ rubber pulley.

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

384.0 cm

Width

137.0 cm

Height

182.0 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Agriculture

Category

Land improvement

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Zor

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

City

Woodstock

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

Period

1972-1980

Canada

A team of Canadian engineers, which included Robert Elms, Anthony Palladino, and Robert Hewitt, designed the Zor Plow after Woodstocker drainage contractor Art Eddy determined that a Canadian market existed for such equipment. Eddy had witnessed the effacity of the British-produced Badger plow to drain land around Chatham for sugar-beet production. Not wanting to lease a Badger, Eddy gathered a team to design a local solution. The southwestern Ontario region was a historical hub for drainage work: Irwin notes that there were more ditchers and trenchers in Kent and Lambton counties than in any other area of Ontario. Land drainage increased after 1910 as farmers sought to increase acreage for the cultivation of specialized cash crops such as sugar beets. See https://www.drainagecontractor.com/business/the-double-link-plow for a story that includes interviews with its developers.

Function

The Zor plow is a high-speed double-linkage plow designed to lay drainage tile and/or cable in one operation. High-speed plow-in equipment that could lay drainage tile (and other subsurface infrastructure such as electrical or electronic cables) in one pass were first developed in the 1960s (Irwin 1989).

Technical

Drainage tile was traditonally made from clay and laid by hand. The introduction of steam trenchers and ditchers sped the work of digging drains but the actual work of placing tiles was still manual. In the 1960s, continuous corrugated-plastic tubing began to replace clay tiles, and was first used to drain fields in Ontario in 1967. The Zor plow was a Canadian design that competed with British designs and which enable the high-speed laying of plastic drainage tile (as tube is still referred to) in one continuous operation. The Zor could also be equipped with an automatic laser grade-control system. Reference: Irwin, Ross W. "Land Drainage Technology--Canada's Leadership Role." Scientia Canadensis 13, 2 (1989): 102-109. URI : id.erudit.org/iderudit/800288ar DOI : 10.7202/800288ar

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

Metal applique lettering reading "ZORPLOW" on each side.

Missing

N/A

Finish

Painted yellow/ plated parts/ black rubber.

Decoration

N/A