Seed Drill, Corn Planter...

Anonymous-0 · Dec 15, 2013

Why is a seeder called a drill? Why isn't a corn planter called a drill? Growing up we just called our grain seeder, w seeder.

Thanks,
Glenn

Traditional Farmer · Dec 15, 2013

I guess for the same reason the Moon is called the Moon and the Sun is called the Sun so everyone would know what each other were talking about when they were referring to each rather then have to say Daytime Sun and Nightime Sun.Say planter or drill and most everyone knows what it means.

Bill(Wis) · Dec 15, 2013

Way back when, a "Seeder" was a machine that simply dropped or sprinkled the seeds on the ground and then relied on cultivating type teeth mounted on shanks to cover the seeds. Maybe some chains attached to drag along, too. Depending on mfg design. "Drills" came out as an improvement to seeding small grains and seeds by incorporating a coulter or seed trench opening tool and the seeds were dropped in this trench and then covered by various devices. There was a definite difference between Seeders and Drills. The term "Planter" was reserved for machines that planted corn, potatoes, trees, etc.

60 acre hillside · Dec 15, 2013

I remember old fellows calling a one row horse drawn planter a DRILL. At that time all two row planters had provisions for check row. I never saw corn being planted in check rows. on first two planters I had I removed all of the check row components I could. Out in the back pasture there is a 1/4 mile roll of check wire.

Bill(Wis) · Dec 15, 2013

You're right. There were three methods of planting corn. 1=Checkrow. Involved using a knotted wire streched across the field that would be moved every round or two. Knots in the wire would trigger planter. 2= Hilldrop. about three seeds would be dropped all at once every foot or so. 3= Drill. Seeds were individually dropped every few inches.

60 acre hillside · Dec 15, 2013

Okay! With the one horse drill there was no provision for hill drop. I suppose all check planters were considered to be hill drop. My first planter, very old back then, had an additional feature of small boxes to drop peas among the row of corn

Bill(Wis) · Dec 16, 2013

Our neighbor used the checkrow feature religiously. I used to watch him carefully move the wire over as he moved across the field. 1/4 mile of wire reached across a 40 acre field. Slow going, with horses, but then he would be able to cultivate both ways. Fewer weeds. Our John Deere 290 came with all three features. I still have the wheel with the checkwire wound on it just the way it came from the dealer.

Seed Drill, Corn Planter...

Anonymous-0

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Traditional Farmer

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Bill(Wis)

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60 acre hillside

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Bill(Wis)

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60 acre hillside

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Bill(Wis)

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