SEGMENT: ENVIRONMENT, FARMING METHODS, & GARDEN
Bert Aikman>UIS Collection A's>UIS Collection, Segment 3
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- ENVIRONMENT
- Discusses appearance of farm & use of hedges to divide fields. Bert had to trim hedge. Hedges had some wiring (no posts, just wired to hedge) so he could let hogs into field. Bulldozers took out hedges & burned them.
- FARMING METHODS
- Two miles of hedge was a lot to cut (2x per year, once in summer, then in winter). Discusses gathering trimmings with horses & burning. Did not like gathering hedge trimmings. Also burned cornstalks & wheat stubble. Took long to learn that stocks & stubble should be left in field & not burned. Describes process of breaking corn stalks & raking with horse pulling pole & rake. Stalks had to be removed because they interfered with cultivators. Good discs ended need for removing stalks. Manure spread on fields & garden. Manure on fields had to be spaded in both directions. Discusses cleaning manure from barn every weekend. Bert eventually got manure-spreader. Discusses spreading manure on wheat field. Discusses borrowing manure-spreader from well-to-do neighbors. "That was neighbors." That machinery cost $150 to buy. Importance of having knowledgeable farmers.
- GARDEN
- Lived on garden produce. Dad grew tobacco Mentions buried cabbage for storage.
