The sickle, scythe, cradle, flail, axe, hoe, besides
the plow and harrow were the only implements used
by our pioneer farmers. Most farmers had handmade
sleighs and wagons, too.

In later years improved implements and machinery
were placed on the market for those who could afford
them-such as the threshing machine, mower, reaper,
binder, seeders, cultivators, fanning mills and more
modem drags and plows.
As the horses were replacing some of the oxen,
barnyard manures were carefully preserved-to be used

chines of
riculture
First manure loader powered by a belt driven wench.
to fertilize the soil. And during the fall it was banked
around the footings of barns and houses to keep out
the winter winds.
To keep the cattle from roaming they built fences
of split rails, stumps and stones. These fences also
served as markings for boundaries and fields. Later

,orn-urowing rioneer - rierman riscner rue TIF51 ,armeF in Maraiunv t oturly
to put in a corn crop. Shown with his heavyweight trio of draught horses as
he prepares a five-acre field for corn. Fischer, who came to the country from
near Burlington in Racine County, said neighbors laughed when he planted
corn and wanted to know what "the southerner knew about raising corn up
here near the north pole". He raised the two horses at the left from colts and
acquired the black at the right from a fox farm.