General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

3

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

STEEL FRAME, AXLE, DRAG BARS, BRACES & DISTRIBUTING SHAFTS. WOODEN SEED BOXES, ROLLERS, WHEEL RIMS & SPOKES. METAL COMPONENT PIECES.

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

285.0 cm

Width

210.0 cm

Height

120.0 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Agriculture

Category

Cultivation

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Billings

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

City

Oshawa

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Unknown

Period

THIS TYPE OF SEEDER USED C.1850S-1880S, AND POSSIBLY LATER

Canada

MFD. FOR MASSEY MFG. CO., 66 MCGILL ST. MONTREAL, A NAME & ADDRESS USED BY MASSEY-HARRIS CO. TORONTO BETWEEN 1885-1891. MFD. IN OSHAWA, ONT. BYG.W.W. BILLINGS

Function

TO SOW CEREAL GRAINS & GRASS SEED

Technical

LATE EXAMPLE OF BROADCAST TYPE SEEDER. ADVERTIZED AS '...THE MOST CONVIENENT, STRONGEST & DURABLE DRILL IN THE WORLD', IT FEATURED DOUBLE GEARS, AND COULD BE ADJUSTED TO SOW A VARIETY OF GRAINS, IN LARGE OR SMALL QUANTITIES. IN 1880S, VARIOUS TYPES OF PRESS DRILLS OR DISC DRILLS, WHICH REQUIRED LESS SOIL PREPARATION TO REMOVE SURFACE TRASH, BEGAN TO REPLACE THE BROADCAST DRILL (AS PER DRR, ACQUISITION PROPOSAL- SEE SUPP.INFO.)

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

STENCILLED IN BLACK ON BACK OF LARGE SEED BOX: 'MANUFACTURED EXPRESSLY/ FOR THE/ MASSEY MFG. CO./ 66 MCGILL STREET/ MONTREAL'; 'OSHAWA ONT' STENCILLED IN BLACK ON FRONT PANEL/ 'BEAVER/ IMPROVED/ PAT'D/ 1885/ NO 2/ G.W.W. BILLINGS/ OSHAWA/ ONT.' CAST IN RAISED PRINT ON METAL END PANEL OF SEED BOX, NEAR LEVER MECHANISM/ 'EXPANSIVE FORCE FEED' APPEARS IN RAISED PRINT ON LEVER/ 'BEAVER/ IMPROVED/ PAT'D/ 1885/ NO.1/ G.W.W. BILLINGS/ OSHAWA/ ONT.' CAST IN RAISED PRINT ON OPPOSITE METAL END OF SEED BOX/ VARIOUS PART NUMBER DESIGNATIONS CAST ON METAL COMPONENT PARTS/FOR TRANSCRIPT OF MARKINGS ON FEED CONTROL MECHANISM SEE SUPP.INFO.

Missing

APPEARS COMPLETE, SAVE MINOR COMPONENT PIECES- 1 HOE ON FURROW OPENER; PART OF LOCK MECHANISM ON SEED BOX; SPOUT ON ONE SEED TUBE. SEE CONSERVATION REPORT. From CA of 06/26/1997 by Carrie Misener: Yes - many small pieces appear to be missing

Finish

RED, BLUE, GREEN AND BLACK PAINT AND STENCILLING PRESENT ON MANY OF WOODEN COMPONENTS OF SEED DRILL.

Decoration

HANDPAINTED SCROLLWORK, BORDERS & FLORAL PATTERNS DECORATE WOODEN COMPONENTS