English Harvest 1938

[clayfoot-sandyman]

I loved this film about how wheat was harvested and stored in England before tractors. Some lovely equipment and a wonderful insight into the English countryside when there was enough people working in it with a heritage of skills to care for it. Check out the stacks!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcyzAIkMwrg

[grey]

Some English agricultural implements are foreign in shape and design to my American-trained eye. What is that single-horse implement following the plow at the end of the film? A seed drill?

I love seeing the single horse working in heavy shafts. Wish there were some better shots of the cart saddle in use.

[Simple Living]

How ever did they have a beautiful crop like that with no weeds? I like how the narrator said “Farming never stops”. And the other theme that it was more than a one man job. It took the whole family, together, to finish the job. Did anyone else notice the modern steel I-beams for the uprights on that shed?

Gordon

[jac]

Hi Grey,, the single horse at the end of the film is pulling a furrow press and even today you can get bigger versions of the same machine for the huge tractor plows. American machines were imported to Britain in big numbers before, during and after WW2. I personaly have a Hoosier grain seeder built in Richmond with wooden box and wheels …wheels need replaced if anyone knows where I can get any.. and a 1940s IHC type ed grain binder which needs a full set of wooden canvas rollers.any ideas ?? The Canadian Cockshut plow seems to have been very popular round my area, but only in walking version. Sulky plows never caught on and neither did manure spreaders which I thought odd but then again Britain had plenty cheap labour at that time. British made mowers were very out dated mechanicaly compared to the IHC models and I dont think I’ve seen a JD model yet and certainly none with rubber tires.
John

[Lingodog13]

Hi Grey,
If you haven’t yet seen “Harnessed to the Plough” and “First Steps to the Furrow” you are in for a treat. They are produced by Farming Press out of Britain, and have pretty good shots the saddle, among other things. Both are availabe for purchase, but you can also get them through your library (Inter Library loan).

[goodcompanion]

@BachelorFarmer 14837 wrote:

Dang, I wish someone would bring me a cold beer and tea and sandwiches out in the field…

This being England, I bet that beer would be warm.

[jac]

Hey Goodcompanion.. Please note that in Scotland the beer is ALWAYS served cold:)… mind you so is the summers :(cheers
John

[goodcompanion]

I would not object to British beer of most any variety being brought to me in the field. I worked in Sussex, and there were a lot of smaller breweries down there that all made pretty much the same kind of beer. Amber, not very hoppy, lightly carbonated, room temperature. Maybe some little chunks of yeast floating around a bit. Lovely stuff.

I just watched the clip. Everything seems so incredibly artful, to see it so ably and deliberately captured on film is a real treat. It reminds me of the England that John Seymour is always alluding to, that you can imagine from the text but never see. To see it in actual motion is really special.

The British countryside looks pretty much the same today as in the film, thanks to the national trust and Prince Charles in part, but hasn’t got a shadow of the same life in it.

[Author]

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