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MEMORIES OF CUT52 Westndabnr.»» itioau, **OurPrairieneverplantscheonhandles sharpened and hark to set Mato the holes tit his log section and stand out e vcnly around it Wm*n done, u was a roller eqtnppisi with sharp• utters, lie rigged a frame tinpitched the soil hut couldjhjs wagon running gear thatpermitted the rt movttl of the coupling pole and the arrangement of the cutter between front crush an(i rt.ar hound, Whim the wa-d smooth plowed grondjgon u..,5 drawn forward the cut were several * Nigger {tf.r rolled over tlu* ground witlFarm Machineryfarm tools on Ten Mile around IK80 were an O-liver Chill turning plow, a bull tongue and a shovel plow and a Georgia stock to handle them. We had a wooden double shovel with flat faced steel pomts whichpush it up against small and a drag made of a pun-with brush attached and iweighted with a log to clods and Therehoes. Yes, tlu* Nigger hoe rs whatpreceded the goose-neck” hoe.It was U* heavy, and impossible opposite the edge and a handlewas too heavy, and impossibleto use easily. With that lt;*quip* ment we raised several crops.I think it was tn 18K2 that wehad a fine cotton crop and the stalks grew to a size which madethem hard for a two-horse, nine-»neh, turning plow to handle. So Pa. wli * had both inventive genius and skill with tools, made himself a stalk-cutter, the first he had ever seen He sawed a section about thirty inches longthe largest tree trunk he find and boredaround it nearE. Wiper.’ton Centre 5», MuurbusHIaHe had a btncfli ninth make him a dozen or fifteen tdeel with handle*, id eatdi end.rows Pa changed his horse to a light drag that cowed two rowsat a time I out ,*wd rented whilehe went the round to put theseed under damp soil. Thee we'd plant four mure rows, and %o onkniveg, lt;That was slow, and I could notmanage to got the need tn a nariground with•*ach knife cutting u few indie*deep He even arranged a sentover the front lamirtL-. wherehe could sit to drive his taro. Mother ordered him to keep me off that seat, lest the team run away, 1 full off and the stalkcutter become a boy decimeter.When he hiMiked up n team andturned’ row how When it came up therewas a wide row of small plants, which are hard to hoe to an even stand So Pa act himself to build a cotton planter He made a drum about thirty inches in diameter and bored a row of holea around the middle of it. Ihe etnla of the drum were lar* ger than the center an that thedrum could roll on them if weplant**! U*v»»i ijround d| «fcx»r was fixed un one aide of the drum to permit s*lt;ed cot to ■ to be put tn umi could be fastened shut.The hoii'tf around the centerwere a bout a tiaJf-imti tn diameter and two or three niches opart. A frame was built 'round the drum with handles from a wlt;ir«out plow hi manage it When ahorse was hitched In t§. the Unng would follow Finn A Mho-**tstraddled a row of heavy cottonstalks the cutter worked perfect- vel plww °Pened * row lH*(ore th?ly Every stalk was reduced to■ hurt odious that were easy to turn under** with the plow.**fromfuuldholesa row ofeach endWHY WAIT!ONLY St* MINUTESFOR LOAN!*onACJTOS — CATTLE FURNITUREFARM, RANCHAND CITY PROPERTYThe first day he used it, Pa had company. Pel helped the other ix*y spread the news and niegh-bors who also had heavy cottonstalks came to watch it was not a heavy ltxsd and it di«( perfect work I've heard since I moved into the effete East that machinery companies provide stalkcutters. I'll venture tlwit not one of them does a better job than Pa’s crude invention.** Pa cut a-bout ten acres of stalks a day with it, and wheu Grandpa had finished his -cotton fields theneighbors borrowed it Seemslike they did their ties! to wear it out, but it was stall in usewhen we moved to Poustoak m 1888 1 think Pa gave it to Grandpa, who remained on his farm forseveral years, in fact died thereabout 1898.irow of holes and a drag behindflattened the ground op I coseed. Again it workedafter some jockeyingholes to shape themlet tin* seed through. Pa could plant eight or ten acres a day and more important, the plants came up in a narrow row that was easy to hoe to a proper standvered the perfectlywith thebetter toAgain Pa Ivid ntwiifMUiy win-a he began planting cotton Again his invention served several forms, and when we moved toPoatonk w/vs loll at Grandpa’s. Probobly it was used till somemanufacturer jnt a better *a-vention oa the market It was no g«Md fur planting corn Holeswhich put cotton seed down jusfright would never do for cornNotbutREX M. GATESLoan CompanyPhone 219108 YV IkariiTor our first cotton urop, aftersod was broken up. Pa laid and oats The off rows. I followed with a pail could turn of seed in one hand and strewed acres a day, working the seed in the row other. When we’dwith theplanted foura very exciting yarn, just stop ami think howoldtimers worked to get started’ liati fences hand-planted cornand eotton, hand sowed wheatplowmanthan twofrom sunto sun, dawu to twilight.an more
Newspaper Details
Henrietta Clay County Leader
Henrietta, Texas, US
Thu, Mar 11, 1954
Page 10
Full Page
Clipped by
Max B.
USA 10 Apr 2021
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Henrietta Clay County Leader
