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Plowing and planting |
In my last few posts we considered the lot of the colonial
housewife. Well, the farmer’s life wasn’t a piece of cake either. If you know
anything about today’s highly mechanized farms, try to imagine what it would
have been like to do all that work without any of our modern tools. Today we’re
going to take a look at some of the implements the colonial farmer had at hand
and how he went about the daily work of tilling the land, planting seed, and
harvesting his crops.
The barn was the farmer’s most important “tool” and the first structure he built after raising a modest cabin to shelter his family. In fact, sometimes the barn was built first while the family lived in a lean-to or other temporary structure. Barns housed farm implements and some livestock and provided a place for milking the cows and storing the harvest. They also provided a large open space for hosting extended family or community get-togethers for work and for frolics that lightened the farm families’ hard lives.
Before the industrial age most work had to be done with hand tools and muscle power. That’s why farm families usually had a lot of children. More children meant more hands for the work, but also, of course, more mouths to feed, which necessitated larger fields for crops and thus more work and workers and…well, you get the idea. Every solution has its own problems. But as they say, necessity is the mother of invention. Over time ingenious inventers developed a wide variety of tools to make farm work easier and more efficient so that fewer laborers and less time were needed.

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Cutting Mattock |
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Moldboard Plow |
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Harrow |
The method was different for planting corn. The farmer plowed furrows across his fields at right angles to each other to create a grid pattern, with the distance between the furrows’ intersection varying according to the variety of corn. For large varieties like gourdseed, furrows were spaced so they crossed from four to eight feet apart, with six feet being most common. Three to 6 kernels were planted 2 to 3 fingers’ breadth deep at each intersection and thinned to 2 to 4 plants per hill after they sprouted. The soil could either be hilled first, then planted or planted first and the hills built up around the base of the plants as they grew. Some colonists planted beans and squash in the hills of corn as the Native Americans did. This was an effective practice since the cornstalks supported the growing bean vines, while the beans fixed nitrogen in the soil for the corn, and the large squash leaves shaded out weeds at their base.
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Harvesting wheat with sickles |
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Flail |
Threshing, or separating grain from the plant’s stalk, was done either by beating the grain heads with a flail (a stick tied to a handle), or by treading—spreading the grain across a circular, packed-earth threshing floor and walking horses across it to dislodge the grain. Once separated from the stalks, the grain was passed through a riddle (a course sieve) on a windy day or through a winnowing or Dutch fanning mill to sift out chaff and dirt. Corn was shelled either by hand—which, trust me, will really tear up your hands!—or by pulling the cob across an iron scraper attached to a tub that collected the grain. I’m sure there was joy on the farm when the automated corn sheller was finally introduced!
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Conestoga Wagon |
I grew up on a farm in central Indiana, so I’m very familiar with the hard work farm families do. Even so, the sheer amount of manual labor our ancestors had to do during colonial times is really intimidating. Whether male or female, our ancestors had little time off from their labors!
Were there any tools mentioned in today’s post that you weren’t familiar with? Are there other farm or garden tools I didn’t mention that were used in colonial or earlier times that you’ve learned about? If so, please share!
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J. M. Hochstetler is the daughter of Mennonite farmers and a lifelong student of history. She is also an author, editor, and publisher. Northkill, Book 1 of the Northkill Amish Series coauthored with Bob Hostetler, won Foreword Magazine’s 2014 INDYFAB Book of the Year Bronze Award for historical fiction. Book 2, The Return, released April 1, 2017. Her American Patriot Series is the only comprehensive historical fiction series on the American Revolution. One Holy Night, a contemporary retelling of the Christmas story, won the Christian Small Publishers 2009 Book of the Year Award.
Great post about the colonial farmer. I grew up on a farm, thus know the hours of labor it takes to plant, care and finally harvest the crops. I enjoy seeing horses pulling the machinery that the Amish community men uses nearby. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteYou're so welcome, Marilyn! I grew up on a farm too and loved everything about it. It's the best way for kids to grow up, imho. You learn to work hard and be responsible, and you learn a lot of life skills too.
DeleteThis is why I enjoy going to our local history village, especially during the harvest festival when reenactors are working at their tasks. Thank you for all your details, Joan!
ReplyDeleteI love visiting living history sites like that, Debra! And harvest time is the most fun time to go. Thanks for dropping by!
DeleteGreat post! If I knew about a flail, I had forgotten! Reminds me of the numchuk(sp) that is used in martial arts.....
ReplyDeleteI'm not familiar with a numchuk, Connie, but if it's like a flail it would be a pretty effective weapon. lol! Thanks for stopping by!
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