Discusses having to break horses in winter of 1909-10 to get ready to farm the next year. Describes breaking horses. He had 1 gentle horse & broke 3 that winter.
LAND
He was partners with brother-in-law, but brother-in-law left & Bert got entire 120 acres. Bert got a gangplow to farm that much land. Land was recently tiled. Tiling changes land into new ground. Aerates & drains ground so it can be worked sooner. He studied farmers & farms he worked with as a kid, so he knew how to start farming. Mentions use of drag to level land before disking. Describes tiling process & how tiles worked. Mentions seeing above-ground sprinklers out west. Newly tiled land was good land.
FARM EQUIPMENT
Corn planter using checkwire costs $32. Wooden harrow owned by father-in-law. Bert made this 6ft harrow into a larger (8ft) harrow. Describes a wooden & steel (teeth) harrow. Harrows pulled at an angle to keep steel teeth close together while working field. Then began to produce completely steel harrows with really sharp teeth. Got a binder for $140. Thought his wheat crop would pay for binder. Got a mower for $65. Got both from implement dealer in Raymond. Then bought a wagon for $80 in the fall by selling a load of corn (80 bushels at $1/bushel). Bought 2 cultivators from father-in-law, 1 rider & 1 walker. Bert liked walker better because you could kick dirt off of corn plants. Bert hired help. Then bought a 2-row cultivator so he did not have to hire extra help. Went in with neighbors to buy hay-rake & tedder. Tedder stirred hay after cutting. Describes use of tedder & mower. Had complete line of farming tools between what he owned & what he shared purchase or shared with neighbors. Never refused anyone who wanted to use his grapple fork for moving hay.