Pioneer Living: The Farm (1970)

[Music] in the early 1800s in every new settlement each member of the family had to help with the farming because life depended on the success or failure of the crops children understood the importance of this and if they lived on a farm learned to help with the chores when they were very young working side by side with their parents they learned to gather the eggs chop wood and feed the farm animals almost as soon as a boy could walk he would be taught to yoke The Oxen he learned to control them from an early age as they were used for many tasks as soon as as the fields were cleared of stumps the farmer would be anxious to plow and prepare the soil for the first crops as The Oxen pulled the wooden plow the iron plow share bit into the soil and turned it into a Furrow they walked up and down the field making furrows with the plow it was a lot of hard work and after plowing the field it still was not ready for planting depending on Regional climates and growing conditions crops varied in importance however two crops were of prime importance but they provided food and clothing these crops were wheat and flax the bigger clumps of Earth were broken up with an instrument called a harrow the farmer was able to build his own Harrow as it was a simple wooden frame that had large spikes driven through the wood the because the newly turned soil was rich with humus it fell apart as soon as the Harrow touched it humus is the natural decaying vegetable matter in new soil the Pioneers did not need fertilizers because their soil was very rich with nourishment after harrowing when the farmer was satisfied that his Fields were ready for planting a cedar was filled with wheat or flax seed walking slowly up and down the field the farmer's son tossed or broadcast the seed by hand corn was a welcome change as a vegetable and also supplied fodder for the pigs and cattle the settlers learned to plant corn the way the Indians planted theirs in little Hills with several seeds to each hole as the wheat ripened ready for the Harvest the grain cradle was sharpened in Readiness for cutting it the farmer cut sads of grain which toppled neatly into the fingers of the cradle and then slid into a row on the ground this row was called a wind row and the farmer walked in the row Gathering the grain into sheaves using a binder's knot he then tied the sheave securely several sheaves were piled together to dry in the Sun at threshing time the sheaves were lined up with their hair heads together for flailing flailing was one of the hardest farming chores it separated the grain from the wheat stems practice was needed to bring the flail down and strike the head of the sheep so that the kernels of grain were knocked on the floor the grain from the floor was carefully shoveled into a blanket or basket the grain was shaken in the basket to separate the skins of the grain called cha the doors of the barn were open to create a draft which blew the lighter chaff away leaving the heavier Grain on the [Applause] floor the grain was poured into the hand qun which was used to grind it into flour the top Stone was rotated while the bottom one remained stationary this crushed the grain between the stones the flower that poured out through the opening was very coarse but wholesome this flour was baked into delicious [Applause] bread as the community grew a Miller came to the area and built a fine flower Mill by a stream so that he could use water power to make his machines work water power was made by the force of water moving downhill to turn the great wooden wheel the water wheel in turn drove all the working parts of the mill Machinery the new Mill meant less back breaking work at the hand qu the Miller tested the flow of the grain into the hood periodically the Miller would check to be sure that the Farmer's Grain was being ground properly once the Miller was satisfied with the texture and quality of flour it was bagged and ready for the farmer the Miller had customers who did not have ready cash to pay for their Milling so he was often paid in toll that is he kept one bag of grain in 10 as payment for mill Flex was the other main crop in the community when the field of flax had ceased blooming and dropped its flowers pea-sized seed pods that looked like small balls formed near the end of the stems the flax plants were then pulled from the ground by hand to preserve the longest possible possible fiber hidden in the stem of the plant was a length of fiber that carefully worked could provide linen for clothing the family when the flax was properly cured and dried the seed balls were removed by a process called Rippling a small wooden comb was drawn through the heads and as the seeds came off they were stored to use as seed for the following Year's crop the Surplus could be sent to an oil mill where the linseed oil was extracted the next step in processing the flax was the wetting of the plants the bundles of flax straw were placed in a stream and weighted down with stones for several days when the water had dissolved enough of the gummy mucilage that held the outside fibers to the core the flax was taken from the stream and spread out to dry after the bundles were opened the farmer took a handful of the flax straw and crushed the inner core with a hand break the handful of flax was taken to the scutcher or swinger where the blades continued to beat off the pieces of core still clinging to the fibers this motion was repeated many times by drawing the fibers through the heckles which resembl sharp iron teeth set on a board the fibers were combed out and separated leaving Short broken or Twisted fibers used for making yarn to be woven into coarse cloth sacks or bed ticks or spun into yarn large enough for wicking for lamps and candles string and rope the fine fibers were now ready to be spun fall brought the ripening corn and the settler couldn't resist a look at the ears to see if they were plump and full and ready to be harvested as winter approached and the settler gathered his harvest the family knew that the plentiful crops would provide a good supply of food for the table until the following [Music] year e [Music]