Plate from 18th century encyclopedia showing illustrations of various types of animal drawn plough including; drain plough, single mould-board plough, drill plough, four coultered plough, hoe plough, paring plough, rotheram or patent plough, spanish plough and a drill rake. The plough is a tool used in farming for initial cultivation of soil in preparation for sowing seed or planting to loosen or turn the soil. Ploughs are drawn either by bullocks or other animals such as horses or camels and have been a basic instrument for most of recorded history, and represents one of the major advances in agriculture.