[AJD] Listed Crop Cultivator

Ronald L. Cook rlcook at pionet.net
Mon Nov 29 16:35:04 PST 2004


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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