‘A sort of Plough driven by main force with one’s breast, commonly used in paring the Turf in Burn-beating’ (Worlidge, Syst. Agric. (1681), 322).
1725. Bradley, Fam. Dict., s.v. Trenching Spade, Some of these Spades … are made with one side turned up like the Breast-Plow.
1869. Blackmore, Lorna D., xv. We must … labour as at a breast-plough.
Hence Breast-plough v., and Breast-ploughing vbl. sb.
1846. J. Baxter, Libr. Pract. Agric., II. 183. The breast-ploughing on these soils is easy.
