These are photos of two of
my favorite collector items. The O-4 McCormick orchard tractor was purchased
new by my grandfather Roy Tuttle in 1944. We spent about three years completely
restoring it. We had to find most of the sheet metal as Grandpa had taken it
all off and I remember taking it to the scrap yard as a kid. We have it
well-documented with all the manuals and paperwork.
The sprayer is a Bean “John
Bean” Magic No. 10 from what we can tell from the unit itself. The engine is a
Witte constant speed. A neighbor bought it at an auction only a few miles from
here and brought it to me. I paid him $300, which is what he bought it for. It
was in very good condition for the age and the fact it is a fruit tree sprayer.
This one was in perfect shape, considering the engine and pump were loose, and
only needed cleaning and painting.
The spray tank is made of
cypress and had some damage (although it wasn’t rot), so I replaced the bad
boards. It leaked pretty bad when I first filled it but then it swelled up and
didn’t leak as much. I suspect it dates to the late 1920s or ’30s, but I really
don’t know. The pressure gauge had an internal stamped date of 1926. I would be
interested in any information anyone has on the sprayer or operator manuals.
Thomas E. Roney, 5717 N – 300W, Greenfield, IN 46140; (317) 326-2278
