Oxon Cove Park and Oxon Hill Farm
About Machinery
Plow
To prepare the fields for crops, the farmer uses a plow to turn over the soil
in long rows called furrows. As horses pull the plow, the farmer grips the
handles to guide it. Improvements in farm machinery allowed the farmer to ride
on the plow (sulky plow), making the work easier for the farmer.
Disk 
The disk is used after the plow to break clods of soil into finer pieces. At
the same time, disking levels the ridging of the field left by the plow.
Harrow
The spike-tooth harrow is used to break up soil into even finer pieces after
the farmer has plowed and disked the field. The harrow also helps level the
soil for planting. Heavy stones are usually placed on the harrow to keep the
spikes in the soil when unfavorable soil conditions exist. Another kind of
harrow, the spring-tooth harrow, has flexible teeth that work better over roots
and stones.
Soil Pulverizer
Ideal for finishing the seedbed, the soil pulverizer breaks down chunks of soil
not crushed by the plow as it turned the furrows.
Manure Spreader
Waste from horses, cattle, and sheep are spread on the fields with a manure
spreader. Manure is mixed in the soil by plowing or disking to provide natural
plant food and nitrogen for the crops. Manure also supplies humus which helps
the soil hold water.
Horse-Drawn Road Grader
The road grader was used to build and maintain earthen roads.
Grain Drill
The grain drill is used to plant small grain seeds such as barley, oats, wheat,
or rye. As horses pull the planter up and down the field, the drill drops the
seeds, evenly spaced in rows, distributes fertilizer, and covers the seeds with
soil.
Corn Planter
Two rows of corn are planted at a time with a horse-drawn corn planter. The
planter drops and covers the corn seed, evenly spaced in rows. By adjusting the
machine, other seeds such as cotton, peanuts, green beans, or popcorn can be
planted.
Sorghum Planter
One row of sorghum is planted at a time. This machine is powered by the farmer
who pushes it through the field. Some farmers use the grain drill to plant this
extremely fine seed and modify the rows.
Transplanter
The farmer transplants crop like tobacco and vegetables in the field after he
has started the young plants in seedbeds. One person drives the team of horses
pulling the transplanter while helpers sit close to the ground on each side. a
shoe opens a furrow into which the helper places a plant. Then water from the
tank wets the roots just before the packer wheels firm soil around the plant.
This machine is also used in large nurseries to transplant seedling trees and
shrubs.
Cultivator
Horses are used to pull a cultivator between the rows to cut weeds out of crops
and pile soil around the plants. Use of a cultivator in a field is like hoeing
the plants in your own garden. It loosens the soil to help plants grow better
and permits moisture to soak into the soil to plant root depth.
Corn Binder
Developed to make corn harvesting faster, the corn binder cuts the green corn
stalks and ties them into bundles with twine. The bundles are placed in shocks
to finish drying.
Corn Husker/Shredder
Dried corn stalks are hand-fed into this belt-driven machine. The ears of corn
are husked and dumped into a wagon and the stalks and husks are chopped and
blown out the blower tube to be used for feed or bedding.
Grain Binder
Grain is cut and bound with twine into sheaves by a grain binder. The first
machine invented to cut grain stalks was the reaper. Improvements produced the
binder which both cuts and binds grain stalks. Today, the combine both cuts and
threshes (see thresher below) in one operation.
Thresher
The thresher separates the wheat after the binder has put it into sheaves
(bundles). The sheaves are hand fed into the machine which sends the wheat
through a series of shakers separating the grain from the chaff and stalks. The
grain goes to one side of the machine and the chaff and stalks go out the
blower tube or out the other side. The chaff and stalks are then blown into a
straw stack or baled so that it can be used for bedding. The grain is bagged to
be used for feed, seed, milled into flour, or sold to purchase items not raised
on the farm. Dates back as early as the 1840s.
Hay Mower
The early 20th-century farmer used a horse-drawn mower with a sickle bar blade
to cut hay. Hay (dried grasses or alfalfa) is an important food for the horses,
cows, sheep, and goats on the farm. The modern farmer uses either a sickle bar
mower or a haybine.
Hay Rake
After the hay is cut and dried, the farmer uses a hay rake to bring the hay
into long rows in the fields. Then it is stacked in the field ( a hayrack) or
hauled by wagon to the barn for storage.
Dump Rake
The dump rake consisted of a series of teeth set 4 inches apart between 2
wheels with a lever attached that would dump the hay at a given spot as the
horse pulled the hay rake across the field. This allowed the farmer to gather
and dump the hay in rows so that 2 men could fork the hay onto the wagon from
each side after the hay had cured.
Hay Loader
The hay loader was developed to mechanically lift the hay from the ground to
the wagon, powered by at least two horses, preferably four. The model displayed
at Oxon Hill Farm is a late model with a gathering cylinder and push bars with
forks on them to carry the hay up and over into a wagon where one man could
stack the hay on the wagon.
Stationary Baler (Hay Press)
The hay press, normally operated by four men, was developed to gather the hay
or straw into a compact package held together by 2 or 3 strands of wire, tied
by hand. This made hay and straw a more marketable commodity.
Apple Cider Press
Apples from the orchard are washed but not peeled or cored. They are put in the
barrel of the apple cider press and the juice is squeezed out to make apple
cider.
Butter Churn
For centuries, the butter churn has been used to make butter.
Cream Separator
Fresh milk is put into the hand-turned cream separator which separates the milk
from the cream by gravity. Milk comes out of one spigot and cream the
other.
Corn Cracker
This hand or belt powered machine cracks shelled corn into a finer mixture
either to be used as feed for the farm cattle, fowl or, with the plates set
tighter, to make corn meal for cooking.
Hand Corn Sheller
A corn sheller is used to remove the corn kernels from the cob. When the dry
ears of corn grate against the teeth of the round shelling gear, the kernels
separate from the cob. Shelled corn is fed to the chickens, ducks, geese, and
other animals, and is used as seed for the new corn crop.
Large Belt-Powered Corn Sheller
The large corn sheller is used for large quantities of dried ear corn. Much
faster than the hand corn sheller, it operates in the same way as the hand corn
sheller.
Hand Pump
Old-fashion now, the hand pump is like the modern day water faucet. By moving
the handle up and down, water is lifted (or sucked) out of an underground
well.
Windmill
The windmill powers a large water pump. The wind spins the blades of the wheel
around which turns gears that drive the long rod up and down to work a pump at
the top of the well beneath the windmill.
Sorghum Press
The sorghum press crushes the juice from the sorghum plant. The horse walks
slowly around in a circle pulling the sweep while someone feeds the stalks
through the press. A clean wooden barrel catches the bright green juice as it
runs out of the press. A screen on top of the barrel filters the
juice.
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