The few implements, which the pioneers carried with them, consisted of mainly of plows, harrows, spades, shovels, hoes, axes and saws. Some of the early plows were made of wood with iron moldboards. Corn and grain were planted or sowed by hand. The grains was cut with a "cradle" and sometimes threshed with flails or trodden out by oxen.
Cattle and hogs running all over
Since there were few fences, cattle and hogs were turned loose on the prairies. In order that each farmer might know which animals belonged to him, he had them marked by making slits in their ears. Different farmers were not allowed to use the same marks, and cattle marks were registered so that stray animals could be returned to the owner. Both cattle and hogs in pioneer times were rather thin and long-legged. You perhaps can guess why hogs then were called "prairie rooters" and "hazel nut splitters."
In the fifties great interest was aroused in better farming through the formation of State and County agricultural societies. More farmers now read papers published especially for them, and they introduces better breeds of horses, cattle, hogs and sheep. New varieties of grasses and fruits were successfully tried out. As rail fences were costly and wood becoming scarcer, some farmers grew hedges, which in a few years would "turn cattle", though not always the "fence-despising hogs" of those days. Hedges added to the beauty of the landscapes. In southern Iowa there were miles and miles of them, and some have survived to the present day.
Pioneer Iowa imported food
For some years the pioneers had to import such food products as butter, pork, and cheese from the states to the east. The first exports from Iowa farms were shipments of corn and wheat sent by boat to St. Louis. After the railroads were built, such shipments were sent east. Surplus products could also be disposed of to emigrants of whom a great many passed through Iowa in covered wagons on the way to the far west- to Utah, California and Oregon.
Labor saving machinery
Iowa began to be settled at the time when labor saving machines were introduced on American farms. Only two years before Iowa was opened to white settlers, a reaper was patented by an American inventor. This machine cut and raked the grain into bundles to be bound by two men who stood on platforms attached to the machine. Earlier than this, mowers and threshing machines had come into use. It was some years, however, before these machines were used on Iowa farms, partly for the reason that the farmers were too poor to buy them. But by 1857 many Iowa farmers had become wealthy enough to buy these and other machines such as horse rakes, horse....
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....cornplanters and cultivators, corn shellers, wheat drills and many others. Some had wind mills for pumping water.
At the seam time more attention was given to feeding, stock, better barns, rotation of crops, shrubbery about the house, and better vegetable gardens.
Holiday for all
The State and County agricultural societies did much to encourage and direct these improvements. Their fairs were great holidays for all classes and ages of people, not the least children. The first State fairs were held in Fairfield and Muscatine. Farmers brought their stock, grains, and vegetables; and manufacturers exhibited tools and machinery. There was also a woman's department with jams, preserves and fancy needlework. The horse races were of special interest to many and the merry-go-rounds drew crowds of children and young people.
Questions and Exercises: Explain gee and haw. List the crops of the pioneer farmers. What were some of the biggest yields? How did the farmers keep track of their livestock? What were the first exports? List new labor saving machines. Compare value of rail fences and hedges. What is crop rotation? Where were the first State fairs held?
