No counting wagons, there were 6 hydraulic cylinders on the entire farm.

4 wagons each had one on the hoist, the Ford loader had four, the Caswell loader had 1, and the John Deere RW disk had 1.

Jake's new to him White planter has eight on it.

You had more plow horses and oxen than hyd cylinders!

Rope trip on two IH slat plows,and one John Deere 490 planter.

I recall a hydraulic wagon hoist that picked up the whole wagon front, but that was before my time.

I can't remember having any.Two tractors Farmall H and M, with draw bars. Plow, disc and planters were pulled on the draw bar. Combine and baler were PTO driven. Did not have manure spreader and the hay trailer was made from an old truck frame and rear end. This was in the mid 50's

Times have changed! In another thread I talk about binding oat hay up to the 70s. People who lease our place have a swather, round baler, modern loader tractors and haul hay with a semi. They can cut, bale, haul and stack in a couple days what took my Dad a month to do. But the rentors have 300 cattle, not the 60 Dad did, and a town job for health insurance and retirement someday. The old world of agriculture is gone. I'm about to retire from teaching after 30 years, and hope to do a little farm work again. Except for fixing fence, I'll need to be retrained in the new ways.

I have an old binder sitting in the edge of the woods on a gas pipeline. Been sitting there since the early 60's. Remember it being used, but I was never involved except hauling the bundles. miles

Milespatton, that old binder is a reminder of a not so distant past. Ranching and farming are becoming more efficient, and thats the natural way of things. But I miss the old ways.

When I was kid we did all of our hay with teams, I remember right after the War my uncles bought 2 tractors one was A model John Deere with Tricycle front wheels, the other was a B model John Deere, both were 2 cylinder with a hand clutch, we started them with the fly wheel, They were a bitch to start when it was cold. We called them Johnny Popper's. Rio7

In 1973, when I was 12, I think there was 5 hydraulic hoses. 2 on the loader, 2 on the cultivator and one on the semi-mounted sickle bar mower. Tractor was a Farmall H that my grandfather bought in 1943. The cylinders were all single acting (lift only). Rope trip on the corn planter, drill, and plows. Just dragged the disk and harrow to where they needed to be.

The hay rake was the real treat, it was the horse drawn one that had some metal bolted to the wooden tongue so it could be hitched to the tractor. 2 big metal wheels in the front and 2 smaller ones in the back. It had small lever you could throw and change the drive gears so that it raked or tedded. And the seat was still on it! As a kid, it was great to ride but now, I think maybe that wasn't such a hot idea...

Dale

Thanks men, I don't feel so much like a dinosaur now.