Because of my father's interest in Geneva and its farming, he saved a few old farm equipment publications for about 70 years. They somehow survived seven or eight changes of domicile over the decades and this seems like a good time to share them with you.
Back in the 1930s, farming was an industry with lower 'barriers to entry' and so was the manufacture of farm equipment. With supportive tariffs, Canada had a significant farm equipment manufacturing sector, and a domestic steel industry to provide its chief raw material.
Below are a few representative images of implements used in Argenteuil in the springtime of the 1930s and 1940s. Given their simple robust design, they might last decades after their original purchase. The images are arranged roughly in order of increasing technological complexity - not necessarily in the order in which the implements would be used during the season ..
Most heavy plowing would usually occur in the fall. In the spring, farmers waited until fields were dry enough to support machinery. They would start preparing a seedbed, often including some fertilizing. When the time was right, seeding would take place. If necessary, mechanical cultivating might be done with some crops to eliminate weed competition for the natural resources needed by the crop.
Naturally, the process was more complex with more variables - but that's the general idea.
Naturally, the process was more complex with more variables - but that's the general idea.
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| from booklet: McCormick-Deering Plows Drills and Tillage Implements c1937 - collection of LC Gagnon. |
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| from booklet: McCormick-Deering Plows Drills and Tillage Implements c1937 - collection of LC Gagnon. |
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| from booklet: McCormick-Deering Plows Drills and Tillage Implements c1937 - collection of LC Gagnon. |
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| from booklet: McCormick-Deering Plows Drills and Tillage Implements c1937 - collection of LC Gagnon. |
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| from folder: Massey-Harris Field Cultivators, 1941, collection of LC Gagnon |
An Implement for Planting Seeds
(next two images)
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| from booklet: McCormick-Deering Plows Drills and Tillage Implements c1937 - collection of LC Gagnon. |
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| from booklet: McCormick-Deering Plows Drills and Tillage Implements c1937 - collection of LC Gagnon. |
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A Corn Planter
(next 3 images)
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| from booklet: McCormick-Deering Plows Drills and Tillage Implements c1937 - collection of LC Gagnon. |
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| from booklet: McCormick-Deering Plows Drills and Tillage Implements c1937 - collection of LC Gagnon. |
.. as peas and beans are legumes (which fix atmospheric nitrogen in their roots), planting them with corn would probably provide both ground cover against weeds for this year's crop, and soil nitrogen for next year's crop. Corn needs plenty of nitrogen.
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| from booklet: McCormick-Deering Plows Drills and Tillage Implements c1937 - collection of LC Gagnon. |
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| from booklet: McCormick-Deering Plows Drills and Tillage Implements c1937 - collection of LC Gagnon. |
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| from folder: The Key to Greater Farm Profits, McCormick-Deering, c1937, collection of LC Gagnon |
