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I acquired this small garden tractor from a neighbor. I have taken it to a couple of shows and no one has ever seen or heard of it. I would like to hear from anyone with information about this little tractor.

Max Speer, 2040 F Road, Delta, CO81416

Telephone talk

I am a vintage telephone collector. My oldest phone is a two-box and was patented in 1895. I also have one with a white mouthpiece. Why a white mouthpiece? When a new product is introduced, some people always are suspicious of it. In the case of the telephone, some thought it transmitted germs as well as voices, and if a caller had a cold, he or she was subject to being hung up on. So, an ingenious businessman invented a white, 'sterilized' mouthpiece to allay the fears of those concerned with 'transmitted germs.'

When I was growing up in the 1920s, we had an eight-party phone line. With no radio, everyone 'rubbered' in on all the phone calls to get the latest news.

Our number was 14-F-4, meaning 14 was the line and 4 was the number of short rings to signal us. One long ring signaled the switchboard operator in Taneytown, four miles away.

I still have a 1939 county telephone directory with all of our neighbors' numbers in it.

Martin L Zimmerman, 4853 Walnut Grove Road, Taneytown, MD 21787

Old scale sparks interest

We cannot find any markings on the frame, wheels or platform of this portable scale. The wood on the scale platform is 1-inch thick and is tongue-and-groove. It seems to accurately weigh 1,500 pounds. Any information, manuals, articles or general history would be appreciated.

Don McKinley, 1336 Boy Scout Road, Quincy, IL 62305; (217) 223-5099;e-mail: deerroad@adams.net

Alfalfa seed thresher query

We are starting an antique farm machinery museum in Wakefield, Kan., and have acquired an alfalfa seed thresher with which we are unfamiliar. The feeder housing was made in Des Moines, Iowa, but we can find nothing more on the implement. Does anyone have any information?

Gail Bauer, 724 Prospect St., Clay Center, KS 67432; (785) 632-2387

Corn picker needs work 

I have a Moline corn picker, model LD, serial no. 39104038. I want to restore it and am seeking information on who the manufacturer was and how the picker was constructed.

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