This interesting farm image with tools is from a book published in London by 1844. Closeup of the sketches (click to enlarge) and description follow...
"Look at this picture, and tell me what it contains:— the centre of it
represents a FARM YARD. On the right you observe a barn, with men thrashing:
in
a field, adjoining, ploughing and harrowing is going on. In the distance is a
wind-mill; and near the middle of the plate is a water-mill.
On the other side
of the picture, we see hay making, and in various parts of the yard are fowls,
ducks, geese, turkies, horses, cows, pigs, &c. Around the plate are various
implements of husbandry. In the first corner, No. 1, is the sower; in the
opposite corner, No. 6, is the mower ; in corner, No. 7, is the reaper; and, in
the right-hand lower corner, is the thrasher.
The side plate, No. 13, represents
the machinery of a wind-mill,
and the opposite side plate is the picture of the
large wheel of a water-mill. Besides these, we have the plough, No. 2; the
harrow, No. 3; the roller, No. 4; the drill, No. 5; the sickle, No. 8; the
scythe, No. 9; the flail, No. 10; and the winnowing machine, No. 11. It will
now be-my business to tell you something about these things.
When the crops are cleared off the ground, the farmer manures his land;
that is, having collected large quantities of dung, mould, straw, leaves, and
various kinds of rubbish, it is carted into the field, and thrown down in heaps
at regular distances: men then come with their broad forks, called dung forks,
and spread it over the soil.
The next operation is ploughing. If you look at the plough, you will
see that it has pointed and cutting irons at its under part, so made and fixed,
that they not only cut the soil, as they pass through it, but also turn it
over. The plough is drawn by one or more horses, driven by a boy, while the
ploughman guides it, as seen in the picture.
After ploughing, the ground is harrowed,—that is, it is raked all over;
but as it would be impossible to rake large fields in the same way as we rake a
garden, a machine is made, (the harrow,) which has sharp teeth, like a rake,
and this is drawn over the ground by horses, as shown in the picture.
Sometimes the ground requires to be rolled, in consequence of the clods
being large. A large roller is drawn over the field, which breaks the clods and
renders the whole surface smooth and uniform.
After the ground has been thus
prepared for the reception of seed, the sower comes and scatters the seed with
an even hand. A skilful sower throws the seed with such exactness, that it
comes up with great regularity.
SEED is sometimes sown with a machine, called a drill, which sows it
very quickly. The seed is put into a trough, or box, above, and dribbles out
into the furrows from little spouts below, as it is drawn along over the ground.
When the corn is up, it requires to be weeded; and a number of women
and children go out into the fields with hoes, and hoe up every weed, and even
some of the corn, if it grow too thickly.
After this, the corn grows till the sun ripens it, then it turns
yellow; the seed in the ear becomes hard, and the harvest commences.
The reaper now comes with the sickle, and the corn is cut down, and
bound up in bundles, called sheaves : several of these bundles are placed in a
row, side by side, when they form what is called a shock.
After a short time, the corn thus sown, grown, and o by the sun, is
carted away to the barn, or it is piled up in large stacks, where it remains
till it is wanted for sale or use.
The next operation is thrashing. The corn is spread out on the floor of
the barn, and beat with long rods, having a leathern joint in the middle ;
these sticks or rods are called flails. If the corn was to be beaten with a
stick without a joint, it could not be so easily struck, and it would be harder
work for the thrasher.
Sometimes corn is thrashed by a machine, called a thrashing machine;
this, however, although it performs the work much quicker, does not do it so
well.
After the corn is thrashed, it has to be separated from the chaff. This
operation is performed by what is called a winnowing machine, which, by raising
a current of air within it, blows the chaff away, and the wheat, by its greater
weight, falls to the bottom.—(See plate, No. 11.)
The corn has now to be ground. It is taken to the miller, who grinds
it, and sifts it, for a certain sum per quarter. It is thus converted into
flour, bran, and middlings.
OF MILLS AND GRINDING.
THERE are two sorts of mills, wind-mills and watermills. Wind-mills
have been invented about six hundred years. Before this time corn was ground by
hand, between stones, and is so in India at the present day.
The picture, No. 13, represents the interior of a windmill. At the
point, a, are the sails, supposed to be on the outside of the mill, which, as
you very well know, are forced round by the wind.
These, by some machinery you cannot see in the plate, communicate
motion to the upper mill-stone inside of the box, b : this stone turns on
another, called the lower or nether mill-stone.
The corn is placed in a bin, or box, above; and by the motion of the
mill-machinery, gradually dribbles through the trough, d, and enters the hole
in the centre of the box, where the mill-stones are. It passes through a hole
in the stone also, and thus gets between the two mill-stones. As the upper
stone turns with great rapidity, and as it does not quite touch the lower
stone, the corn is in consequence, as it passes between the stones, bruised and
broken into flour. From the circular motion of the stone, the flour is carried
outside of it, and comes out at the hole, e, passes into the hopper, h, and
falls into the bin, k. The meal, or flour, has now to be dressed or sifted;
this, the machinery of the mill performs. There are several dressers of various
degrees of fineness: into these, one after another, the flour passes, and is
there shaken and sifted. The fine flour comes out first; then the middlings;
and, lastly, the coarse husk of the wheat, called bran.
Martin, William. The Holiday Book: with Numerous Illustrations ... 2d ed London: 1865
William Martin (1801-1867) was an illustrator, editor and writer. The Holiday Book was first published in London by at least 1844.
©2018 Patricia Bixler Reber
Researching Food History HOME
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment