LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Tom Moon, 10 Mary Lane,' Riverton, IL 62561; eMail: tmoon59101@aol.com

UNIDENTIFIED TRACTOR WAS 'AHEAD OF ITS TIME'

Enclosed are some pictures of a tractor my dad had when he farmed. He died in 1926, but was farming until 1923 or '24, so he must have bought the tractor in 1919 or the early 20s. This tractor was ahead of its time: It had an attachment for hooking it up to an oats binder so one man could cut oats alone. Does any one know what kind of tractor this is, and what color it was? Also, has anyone restored a tractor like this?

Henry R. Aschbrenner, 800 Pleasant St., Sumner, IA 50674

SAW QUESTIONS ANSWERED

The saw pictured on the Letters page of the May issue is a folding machine saw. It was made by Folding Sawing Co., 94-66 S. Clinton St., Chicago, Ill., and was patented Oct. 31, 1882. The saw could be folded and carried on a man's shoulder. By turning it sideways, it could be used for felling trees. We have one of these at the New Jersey Museum of Agriculture.Coles Roberts, curator, New Jersey Museum of Agriculture

WATER-COOLED MODEL ENGINE POWERED HACKNEY, SAGENG THRESHER

Recently I came across a Model gas engine catalog which included photographs of both a Hackney auto plow and Sageng combination gasoline threshing machine. Both were equipped with four-cylinder Model engines. This proves that the Hackney and Sagent used water-cooled Model engines, not Twin City air-cooled. I have never seen a Twin City air-cooled engine. Twin City engines were used in their tractors, as well as Reeves 40-80 and 25-50, power plants and sawmills.

Gary J. Oechsner, 39 Reid Terrace, Apt. 14, Fond Du Lac, WI 54935

'RUST COTTON PICKER' FOUND DURING TEXAS SOJOURN

While in south Texas last winter, I observed this early cotton picker in an old fence row. The unit was one row, and appears to have been mounted on a row crop tractor. The unique picking system was not a drum, but a wide belting with spring tines mounted in rows. The belt moved around through a track, and then through a stripping area where the cotton was sucked and blown into the basket in the back. This was certainly a different design than I had ever seen. Does anyone know the history on this machine? Was it brought out by John Deere or I.H.?

Wilfrid Vittetoe, 1122 S. Airport Rd., Washington, IA 52353-1375