Life on a Farm
Flax Processing
Flax is an annual plant, which when fully grown reaches a height of 50 to 100 cms. When approaching maturity (after 70 to 100 days depending upon weather conditions), blue or white flowers are produced depending on the variety. Generally speaking, the blue flowered variety produces fine, good quality fibers whereas the white-flower plant produces stronger but coarser fibers.
Flax is an annual plant, which when fully grown reaches a height of 50 to 100 cms. When approaching maturity (after 70 to 100 days depending upon weather conditions), blue or white flowers are produced depending on the variety. Generally speaking, the blue flowered variety produces fine, good quality fibers whereas the white-flower plant produces stronger but coarser fibers.
Learn about the flax process from harvesting it to getting it ready to be spun.
While watching this video, pay attention to what is being done to the flax and the tools being used.
Horses
Horses were power animals on the farm. They were very useful with helping out in the fields. They could be used to help plow, as well as plant seeds and cultivate the dirt. This video shows mules using a seed drill and cultivating (which means to prepare and work on land so as to grow crops). Mules are a cross between a donkey and a horse, but they are worked very much like horses.
Click on the button to learn more about the seed drill. |
Horses were also used as transportation and pulled buggies like this as well as wagons
|
Oxen
They called them “poor man’s power” back in the 1800s when oxen’s economical nature enabled them to play an important role in leading the United States’ expansion westward to millions of fertile, unclaimed acres. In fact, the word “acre” itself was once defined as the area that one pair of oxen, hooked to a single-beam walking plow, could till on the longest day of the year. Oxen were a bargain among draft animals then —and they still are, given their relatively low initial cost, the ability to work long hours, inexpensive equipment and a lengthy lifespan. That’s why it should be no surprise that the most-used draft animal in the world in 2011 remains the ox. Everyone’s heard the phrase, “as strong as an ox”, but few are familiar with the animal that goes by this name.
They called them “poor man’s power” back in the 1800s when oxen’s economical nature enabled them to play an important role in leading the United States’ expansion westward to millions of fertile, unclaimed acres. In fact, the word “acre” itself was once defined as the area that one pair of oxen, hooked to a single-beam walking plow, could till on the longest day of the year. Oxen were a bargain among draft animals then —and they still are, given their relatively low initial cost, the ability to work long hours, inexpensive equipment and a lengthy lifespan. That’s why it should be no surprise that the most-used draft animal in the world in 2011 remains the ox. Everyone’s heard the phrase, “as strong as an ox”, but few are familiar with the animal that goes by this name.
A yoke is a wooden beam normally used between a pair of oxen or other animals to enable them to pull a load when working in pairs. Some yokes are fitted to individual animals. There are several types of yoke, used in different cultures, and for different types of oxen. A pair of oxen may be called a yoke of oxen, and yoke is also a verb, as in "to yoke a pair of oxen". Other animals that may be yoked include horses, mules, donkeys and water buffalo. A head yoke fits onto the head of the oxen. It usually fits behind the horns and has carved-out sections into which the horns fit; it may be a single beam attached to both oxen, or each ox may have a separate short beam (see picture). The yoke is then strapped to the horns of the oxen with yoke straps. Some types fit instead onto the front of the head, again strapped to the horns, and ox pads are then used for cushioning the forehead of the ox. A tug pole is held to the bottom of the yoke using yoke irons and chains. The tug pole can either be a short pole with a chain attached for hauling, or a long pole with a hook on the end that has no chain at all. Sometimes the pole is attached to a wagon and the oxen are simply backed over this pole, the pole is then raised between them and a backing bolt is dropped into the chains on the yoke irons in order to haul the wagon.
Here is a video that shows oxen working to plow the field.