A heavy frame of timber (or iron) set with iron teeth or tines, which is dragged over ploughed land to break clods, pulverize and stir the soil, root up weeds, or cover in the seed. Sometimes made in two halves, and then locally called the harrows.
Example | Meaning |
Interviewer: Is there- a special name for these- these different types of ploughs? Speaker: Oh well yeah, this here is what you call a riding plough. Interviewer: Uh-huh. Speaker: That looks like a two-for a plough there. This'd be a disc. Interviewer: Mm-hm. Speaker: Disc-harrow, they were called. This here is the- what they would call the walking plough. |
A heavy frame of timber (or iron) set with iron teeth or tines, which is dragged over ploughed land to break clods, pulverize and stir the soil, root up weeds, or cover in the seed. |
Interviewer: Ah, what other types of horse-drawn machinery would you have? Speaker: Oh, well, or- all kinds. Heavens, there was the disk harrow, and there'd be a harrow. Roller. That was for rolling the ground after the field were sown, to make them smooth. And minder, for cutting the grown. Mower, for mowing the hay. Horse (inc). |
A heavy frame of timber (or iron) set with iron teeth or tines, which is dragged over ploughed land to break clods, pulverize and stir the soil, root up weeds, or cover in the seed. |
Example | Meaning |
Speaker: And he'd disk it all up, like in ready for- and then he'd take the harrows and he'd go to the harrows, and then he'd take the cedar and he'd seed them. Interviewer: Mm-hm. Speaker: And ah then he'd harrow again. And c-- to cover the grain like this. Interviewer: Mm-hm. Speaker: It was a lot of work on the farm. But ah we never had a tractor on our place at all. |
A heavy frame of timber (or iron) set with iron teeth or tines, which is dragged over ploughed land to break clods, pulverize and stir the soil, root up weeds, or cover in the seed. |
Example | Meaning |
Speaker: Ah, we- it was pretty rough job ploughing it but they- Interviewer: Mm-hm. Speaker: They used ploughs. And, ah, ah, at the- the very first, all I had was ploughs and a drag harrow. Just drew by horses. |
A heavy frame of timber (or iron) set with iron teeth or tines, which is dragged over ploughed land to break clods, pulverize and stir the soil, root up weeds, or cover in the seed. |
Speaker: Well, I guess, ah, they're- where they- they ploughed it out of, they called that the furrow and ah, I know- I don't know what else we'd say. Interviewer: Yeah. And then you said you used a- a harrow drag next? Speaker: Yes, just a drag harrow. Interviewer: A drag harrow. Speaker: Drag harrow. Interviewer: Sorry, I got the- (laughs) I didn't know that. And what would that do? Speaker: Well that levelled, you see. Interviewer: Yeah. Speaker: It was just- ah, the harrow, it had teeth. Interviewer: Yes. Speaker: Ah, it was an iron affair. Well, in fact there was a- the very first there was- was a sheet of pins roll down through a wooden- ah, wood. And, ah, made- but the- the drag harrow, it had teeth on both- that'd be six inches long. |
A heavy frame of timber (or iron) set with iron teeth or tines, which is dragged over ploughed land to break clods, pulverize and stir the soil, root up weeds, or cover in the seed. |
Example | Meaning |
Interviewer: Oh so you just say that that field's been ploughed. Speaker: Mm-hm. Interviewer: And then back- Speaker: Broken up. Interviewer: Mm? Speaker: Broken up. Interviewer: Mm-hm. Speaker: Mm-hm. Interviewer: And then after that you said you'd use the harrow? Speaker: The harrow or the- or the- or the, ah, disk. |
A heavy frame of timber (or iron) set with iron teeth or tines, which is dragged over ploughed land to break clods, pulverize and stir the soil, root up weeds, or cover in the seed. |
Speaker: The harrow or the- or the- or the, ah, disk. Interviewer: Yeah. Speaker: However if you used the disk sometimes there was a (inc) Interviewer: Did they both do the same thing? Speaker: Oh yes. Well now, I don't know. I think maybe the- the disk went- the harrow smoothes them over. Interviewer: So like- Speaker: Yes. Interviewer: Running a- Speaker: But this cuts them up finely. Interviewer: Mm-hm. Speaker: Gets them all ready for grain. |
A heavy frame of timber (or iron) set with iron teeth or tines, which is dragged over ploughed land to break clods, pulverize and stir the soil, root up weeds, or cover in the seed. |
Example | Meaning |
Interviewer 1: Now you mentioned another word when you were talking about that. Harrow. Harrowing. Speaker: Yeah. Interviewer 1: What's that? Speaker: Well it's not the same harrowing as what you get now. Because i-- you get harrowed now with the government (laughs) Interviewer 2: (laughs) Speaker: The- y-- y-- the harrows- Interviewer 2: Like harrow (inc) Speaker: Norma-- normally the- it was ah, i-- in a diamond shape. And they're like spikes. They'd be- if they weren't wore down they'd be about that long. Interviewer 1: Yeah. Speaker: So you had a- a grid of steel this way, and then this way. And in the corners of the diamonds was all the pegs for the harrows. And what your harrows did, if- and this i-- when they changed um- when they changed things around and w-- got rid of the horses, and got tractors, if you're driving through the country now you can see all kinds of steep old hills and where there was fence bottoms. |
A heavy frame of timber (or iron) set with iron teeth or tines, which is dragged over ploughed land to break clods, pulverize and stir the soil, root up weeds, or cover in the seed. |