So what does a frog have to do with a Blackland Bottom? Can I even say that? Anyway, the frog supporters share just ahead of the landslide heel. Moreover, if the bottom isn't Blackland, it just might be stubble or slat. So there— but any way you look at it, you'll probably have a chilled bottom to share with your malleable brace.
Yes, some of you already recognized these terms to be in relation to the common plow. Despite my background, most of these terms were unknown to me.
My agricultural experience is largely limited to riding a hay wagon—both hay and wheat straw—and the handling of seemingly endless quantities of dairy by-product. I'm told that I was a pretty good milker in my early days, but I really don't recall.
In my adolescent and adult years, my agricultural experience has all been related to apple and peach growing, a passion that persists to this day. So here I am, a technical editor for a world-class antique tractor collector's magazine who has never pulled a three-bottom through black gumbo.
Nowadays, I'm regularly called upon not only to identify those spidery contraptions peeking up through the brush behind barns, but also to talk like I grew up on them. Fortunately, there's a clear, concise textbook—or rather an encyclopedia—to answer my questions that would otherwise expose my ignorance.
Back in the day, tractor manufacturers had the foresight to indoctrinate children in order to cultivate a future market. For example, my kiddie pedal tractor was modeled after an Allis Chalmers WD-45, their top-of-the-line tractor at the time. This was an attempt on the part of the local Allis dealer to enamor me to the Allis Chalmers brand and possibly as a hint to my grandfather to upgrade from his WF.
No manufacturer, though, has employed these brainwashing techniques more extensively than John Deere. John Deere has gone beyond being the champion of school bus ride discussions, but has been elevated almost to the status of a religion.
In addition to the toys and trinkets, John Deere pursued its market right into the classroom and through high school and likely into college. These volumes are titled "The Operation, Care and Repair of Farm Machinery." It's been several years, but I seem to recall Roger Haines gave me my first copy labeled, "17th edition." I paged through it finding it—as expected—to be a rather dry text with clear but unexceptional black-and-white photos. Hmmm, cool.
I assumed that these books were issued to every John Deere purchaser. Though thankful to Roger for thinking of me, the book began gathering dust. Then someone asked, "Why does this funny-looking plow have seed cans on it?" I remembered the book and was an expert on this device called a "lister" in mere minutes.
"That's a lister, it's pulled over a prepared seed bed, opens a furrow, drops a seed, then covers it. Does it have a seat? Yes? Then it's meant to be horse-drawn—yass indeed...you're welcome."
It was only then that I chanced to read the preface. This was actually a high school and college textbook distributed nationwide "with the compliments of John Deere, manufacturer of quality farm equipment since 1837." No wonder those 7th generation Jersey Dutch farmers acted like they never heard of a tractor with more than 2 cylinders.
I was unable to find a copyright date, but me being me, I had to know. The book includes horse-drawn walking plows and the photos of tractor drawn plows don't show any evidence of hydraulics. Long, manual lift levers are clearly visible. The tractors are "styled." That is, they have at least some art-deco tinware. The wheels alternate between solid cast with wheel weights to "spokers," some with steel cleats instead of rubber tires.
The book has a special section on John Deere stationary farm (hit and miss) engines as well as a table of useful information including an extensive section on machinery belting. In a table of planting spaces, it suggests 40 feet both ways for apple trees—ah, those were the days.
A photo in the hay handling equipment chapter shows a cab-over truck pacing with a field hay chopper at work in windrowed alfalfa. From Tad Burness' American Truck Spotter's Guide, 1920-1970, I was able to determine the truck to be a 1940 Ford. Considering all the foregoing, this may well have been the last pre-war edition.
Antique Power once featured a photo of a prototype of John Deere's proposed World War II assault vehicle. It was basically a farm tractor with two armored compartments ahead of the driver. Each compartment housed a machine gun. The compartments were tiny, not a space one would want to share with one of Hirohito's famous phosphorous grenades. The Army brass sent John Deere packing back to Moline without a contract.
Year's later, John Shreve gave me a copy of the 26th edition. Just last week, Nancy at the Capon Bridge, West Virginia public library sent me a copy of the 25th. Here we start to see some hydraulics as well as the later 2-cylinder tractors such as the 60, 70, and the monster diesel R. The De Buque series of small utility tractors, popular with returning soldiers, start to make an appearance.
I would like to have the entire collection. I'm curious about a few things— If we try to establish a time line of approximately one issue per year, more or less, it would take us back to the mid-late 1920's. This is about the time John Deere acquired the Waterloo Boy company and got into the tractor business. Would the first edition feature the Waterloo Boy or would it all be about horse-drawn equipment? Furthermore, I would like to see what John Deere has to say in praise of their disastrous first departure from its 2-cylinder design in 1960, the infamous 2010. So, look around behind old barns and see what you can come up with—any questions?
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