Spring was a new beginning, with hens resuming their egg-laying after a winter rest, and the arrival of new lambs, calves, piglets and chickens, ducklings and goslings. Most of the farms had a farrow cow to provide milk for the household for the winter months. Then, in spring-time the herd would come into production. Cropping usually began with spreading manure, then working it into the soil. Summer-fallow (ploughing in early summer) was a way to control couch-grass. Some farms had as many as 10 to 12 horses (there was quite ofien a driver included), while others had two or three. Mostly these were hitched in three-horse teams to haul the manure spreader, plough, harrows or other heavier equipment. Horses got the best hay and grain because they were used to do the field work. Also, in most cases, they were given an hour at dinner—tirne. The cows were fed straw, turnips grain and cull potatoes. In the earlier days, grain was sown broad-cast by hand, the broad-cast seeder came next, with the drill-seeder following. Previous to the land being cleared, potatoes were first planted by placing a potato piece along with a herring in a hole close to a stump. The next advancement was to plough a ridge, then place the potato, or a set and then cover. Then a marker was developed as well as the hiller. Then came the planter which could sow fertilizer and plant the potato sets and the advancements are still continuing. Most house-holds had a garden planted as well as a patch of turnips. -

Summer was the time for berries, cultivating, weeding, bug picking, haying and harvest, and of course bathing and swimming. Earlier, haying consisted of cutting, raking, coiling and then pitching onto the wagon by hand. The wagon was then hauled to barn where the hay was pitched to the loft. Later we had the hay-fork. This was stuck into the hay and then pulled up by a horse using block and tackle to the lofi where it was stowed by hand. If there was more hay than the barn would hold, stacks were built. This was quite an art in itself. Later, side-delivery rakes and hay—loaders were introduced, then balers. These were used to make square bales. The first baler in the area was owned by Russell Dyment, Charles MacKay and Athol Colwill and used wire to

tie the bales. Here are some memories as told by Claude Colwillz” The Newcombe brothers had one of

the first “binders” in the area. Jack on the original Newcombe property, Swabey, where Roy Nechmbe now lives, Arthur, who owned the property where John Colwill now lives, Charles, on the MacLean Road and Ernest, in Birch Hill. Jack was trying out the new binder where John and Libby’s house now stands. Woodland Colwill wanted to see how the new machine work so he walked across the field. Swabey was sitting on the fence singing “Bringing in the sheaves”. This new machine actually tied the sheaves, unlike the reaper that cut the grain and left it lying on the ground where the binding had to be done by hand. It wasn’t long before Woodland and the other farmers in the area owned binders, too.

Sheaves had to be stooked (stood up in bunches of six or eight) to dry. Earlier, grain was hauled to and stored in the barn-loft to be threshed in the late fall, or early winter. The sheaves would be pitched from the loft, put through the threshing machine, separated, and the straw being pitched back to the loft. The blower, which came into existence in the ‘40's did away with having to pitch the straw to the loft. The combine was then introduced and is now common-place. £311, With the fall season came potato harvest. In the earlier days, potato digging was just that, scratching the potatoes fiom the furrow of a single plough, then a rooter. This was followed with the “Moody” and the “Ransom” beater diggers which turned the tubers out in a swath which varied in width depending on the speed of the horses. The elevator digger was a great invention, if the ground was clean, but no easier digging than with the plough if the land was couchy. With the coming of the tractor, a digger and picker were used to harvest the crop. Many late evenings were

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