MYSTERY OBJECTS

[Stanley]

Very close Peter but not correct. I used to use one every day in winter at Harrod's Farm.....

[Gloria]

Cutting silage?

[Stanley]

Yes Gloria! Or hay originally. I used mine for cutting silage out of the stack but the original use was for cutting hay out of stacks before the days of hay baling.
I'll have to come up with another now!

[Stanley]

What is it, what's it called and how did it get its name?

[Wendyf]

Is it a tedder?

[Stanley]

It can be Wendy but was marketed as another type of machine. You're right in that it was for haymaking.

[Gloria]

Is it a wuffler? For throwing grass about to dry it?

[Stanley]

Not a wuffler Gloria. Clue, it was marketed by Massey Harris but was actually a product of a Scottish factory after whom it was named.....

[Stanley]

I shan't let it hang on.

[Wendyf]

Must admit to googling it as you are going to tell us anyway! It's a Dickie Hay Turner made by Wm Dickie and Sons and badged by Massey Harris.

https://blog.scottishagriculturalimplem ... ay-turner/

[Stanley]

That's right Wendy, a Dickie Swathe Turner. Here's a bit from me memoirs.....
we had a variety of buckrakes and hay-making machinery. One I remember in particular was a Massey Harris Dickie, which doubled as a swathe turner or rower depending on how you set the rotors. It had half inch thick spring steel tines which broke with distressing frequency. I remember finishing rowing a field for baling once and realising I had broken a tine. Lionel was convinced it would smash the baler if it went through it so we went out after tea and turned 15 acres by hand with rakes. We never found it but the following day Arthur did as he was baling, he said he heard it go chunk, chunk so he marked that bale with a fag packet under the string and opened it up later. The New Holland had chopped the tine into four pieces and there was hardly a mark on the knives.
Next for shaving?

[Stanley]

What is it?

[Steeplejerk]

Is it a diesel plough ??

[Stanley]

Sorry no Tom. Not diesel and not a plough.

[Wendyf]

Is it a heavy duty mower?

[Stanley]

Close enough Wendy and well done. It's an Auto Scythe made by Allens of Oxford. A very popular tool at one time on small holdings and market gardens.
Next one?

[Wendyf]

Neighbours of mine in Scotland had one, terrifying!

[Stanley]

I only used one once and I remember at the time wondering why anyone would feel they had to buy one. Definitely a beast! Speaking of beasts, can you tell me what this is?

[Steeplejerk]

Is it a stump puller used by loggers ??

[Stanley]

Sorry Tom, no, but capable of an action on a similar heroic scale. Not your normal agricultural tool.

[Tizer]

For towing army battle tanks?

[Stanley]

Sorry no Peter. A heavy duty agricultural tool.

[Steeplejerk]

Removing large stones ?

[Stanley]

No Tom, breaking the plough pan on heavy clay soils.....

[Stanley]

That's the best clue you could have. I'll leave it up until dinnertime.