[AJD] Listed Crop Cultivator

[Merle W. Johnson]

Well Dean,
Your note is exactly why when I jioned the Navy in 1950 I thought I was on
vacation and why I never went bact to the farm in Wisc.  The tooughtest day
aboard ship was a breeze.
Merle

Dean VP wrote:

> Ron & Dennis:
>
> I have always wanted to see what a ROM lock looked like. Anyone have a
> picture or refer me to a parts catalog that shows one. I've also wondered
> why the locks were used when a tractor could be purchase with a non-Rom
> front end. But I guess I can see where the lock was only needed in certain
> situations.
>
> I know when we were still checking corn, the fields got really rough. And
> then we disked diagonally too.
>
> I've also seen where one front wheel could be extended in front of the other
> on a ROM. That would have been really helpful when cross cultivating.
>
> Lot's of gadgets we never saw on our farm. I guess we were just tough old
> buggers and used guts and glory to get through this stuff.
>
> I do know that a cab on the tractor would have made life a lot more
> comfortable in the spring and fall.  Not for heat or air conditioning, just
> to slow down the stinking wind and dust. All we ever had was a "Heat Hauser"
> and that was primarily used on the loader tractor in the winter. At 40 below
> zero that was a real lifesaver, if the Plexiglas didn't crack! I now wonder
> how in the heck we ever got the tractor started. No heated buildings on our
> farm. In fact the house was even questionable about whether it was really
> heated. I do remember snow drifting through the windows sills and the
> chamber pots freezing at night. I'm not sure our old house even slowed down
> the wind. It was a real joy when a new house was built in 1948. We were in
> pig heaven! Even had indoor toilets and running water.
>
> I see the farmers now out in the fully enclosed air conditioned cabs with
> stereo, GPS and radio communications and I wonder how we ever got anything
> done.  I found out that the cab alone on one of my brothers tractors cost
> more than any complete tractor I ever had the opportunity to use in the 40's
> & 50's. Maybe that is why I left the farm!
>
> I have a fetish about cold today. It dropped down to 25 degrees here last
> night. That is cold for us folks who live near the coast. That is only 65
> degrees warmer than some weather I worked in, in NW Iowa years ago. What a
> city wimp.
>
> Dean A. Van Peursem
> Snohomish, WA 98290
>
> I'm a walking storeroom of facts..... I've just lost the key to the
> storeroom door
>
> www.deerelegacy.com
>
> http://members.cox.net/classicweb/email.htm
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: antique-johndeere-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
> [mailto:antique-johndeere-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of
> Cotton Family
> Sent: Monday, November 29, 2004 5:09 PM
> To: 'Antique John Deere mailing list'
> Subject: RE: [AJD] Listed Crop Cultivator
>
> Speaking of the ROM lock for the front wheels, anybody know where I
> could find one????
>
> Dennis
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: antique-johndeere-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
> [mailto:antique-johndeere-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf
> Of Ronald L. Cook
> Sent: Monday, November 29, 2004 6:35 PM
> To: Antique John Deere mailing list
> Subject: Re: [AJD] Listed Crop Cultivator
>
> Dean,
>
> Dean VP wrote:
>
> > Don:
> >
> > As a teenage boy I cultivated a lot of corn but not listed corn.
> After the
> > noon meal when the weather was hot and humid, it was difficult to stay
> awake
> > on the slow moving tractor. Occasionally a few stalks of corn would
> get
> > plowed under.
> Yep!
>   I would think that it would really be a challenge to stay on
> > top of the ridge at all times. Maybe those who drove listed corn
> cultivators
> > got home on time the night before!  :-)
> Nope!
> >
> > Dean A. Van Peursem
> > Snohomish, WA 98290
>
> Here is the way we did it.
> Be sure not to list too deep, then the ridges will be somewhat flat on
> the top center.  Put the Roll-O-Matic lock on the front if the tractor
> is equipped with that front end.  If a wide front tractor(not a very
> good deal in this case) adjust the width to run on the center of the
> ridges.  Install the skeleton wheels on the rear and set them to ride on
>
> the center of the ridges.  In our case, we had 40 inch row spacing, so
> our wheels were set at 80 inches.  Some folks didn't have a set of
> skeleton wheels for their tractors and had to go with rubber tires.
> Much harder to keep on the ridges and also have a tendency to compact
> the ridges making the cultivation less than satisfactory in my opinion.
>
> Okay, I think that handles throwing out.  The ridges are now narrowed
> and peaked up.  Next cultivation is throwing in.
>
> The tricycle tractor has the Roll-O-Matic locked and the wheels reversed
>
> or spacers installed if non-reversable wheels to set the wheels at its
> widest spacing.  The wide front tractor has its wheel spacing narrowed
> so as to allow the the front wheels to run on the inside bottom edge of
> the ridge next to the row.  The skeleton wheels are set in to run on the
>
> inside bottom edge of the ridge also.  This set-up is the one where you
> can stay out too late and still stay on the row.  A non power steering
> tractor will pretty much just follow the ridges from one end of the
> field to the other.
>
> My Dad used to get upset with me putting on the fenders during this
> cultivation time.(he didn't like the things)  But those fenders stopped
> that flash flash flash in my eyes from the shiny skeleton lugs.  That
> really put me to sleep even if I had got home at a decent hour.
>
> I hope I got it close to right.  It's been fifty years.  I have the '48
> A and the fenders.  My Dad is using the skeleton wheels as lawn
> ornaments and the 4-row listed corn cultivators are long gone as are
> listed crops around here.
>
> Ron Cook
> Salix, IA
>
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