SEGMENT: FARM-EQUIPMENT, FARMING METHODS, & ENVIRONMENT
Bert Aikman>UIS Collection A's>UIS Collection, Segment 21
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- FARM EQUIPMENT
- Description of blacksmith work making steel "tires" for wagon wheels. All farmers needed this sort of work (fix tires, fix spokes, fix wagons) done during farming seasons. Steel wheels would loosen during dry weather. Blacksmith's fire to reset steel wheels (re-tighten) from corncobs obtained at elevator. Discusses later use of a "crimper." Discussion of Bert's blacksmith Al Jones & woodwork man Elias Day. (addenda item# 71, see Aikman 7, Clip# 780)
- ENVIRONMENT
- Story of attempting to soak wheels in stream to get wooden wheel to swell so the steel tire would not be loose & almost loosing horses in quicksand. (addenda item# 71, see Aikman 7, Clip# 780)
- FARMING METHODS
- Discussion of having to lime "sour" soil (about 2 tons/acre) before you could grow alfalfa & how soil was tested by Farm Bureau. Farm Bureau would advise on amount of lime, phosphate, & potash to add to soil. Description of fertilizer-application by hand before any mechanical spreaders. Lime then disked to keep it in soil. Then ready for harrowing & sowing. Alfalfa grew through the winter. Then started growing sweet-clover to plow into soil before planting alfalfa. Sweet-Clover added nitrogen to soil. Then a weed cover added & these fields produced a lot of corn. "…that would produce corn!" Description of using wire & plow to get sweet-clover or weed cover plowed into furrows where it would rot & release nutrients to soil for next year's planting of corn, alfalfa, or other crop. (addenda item# 71, see Aikman 7, Clip# 780)
