Thresher/Binder in Clover

DanielW · Jan 18, 2019

Hi all,

I have a later model Goodison threshing machine, and a clover/grass seed
're-cleaner' to go on it. Apparently this was for threshing small seeds.

I have about 3 acres I'm contemplating putting into sweet clover to see
what might happen if I let go to seed. I expect it might be a disaster,
but this is more for curiosity than a money-making venture.

My questions:

i) Does anyone have an idea how a threshing machine would perform in
clover? I imagine not that well. The old Birdsell (or similar) clover
hullers are what seem to have been used, at least in this area.

ii) How did they get the clover to the huller/thresher in the old days?
Could you run a binder through green clover and not plug every 20 feet? I
have trouble running a binder through dry oats if there's any weeds coming
up through at all.

Any thoughts/suggestions/speculation are very welcome.

Michael Soldan · Jan 18, 2019

We had a John Goodison threshing machine and we threshed everything with it including clover seed. I believe if I remember correctly that the small seed gathered in the bottom and there was a plate that slid open to dump the clover seed into a bushel basket. I know small seeds didn't go up the elevator and run out like grain did. Dad would bag up the seed and take it to the town of Exeter where a seed buyer would further clean it , weigh it and pay in cash. McNaughton Seed Company , he went on to become Ontario's Minister of Transportation.

DanielW · Jan 18, 2019

Thanks, that's very helpful. What you describe is about on-par with how I see this re-cleaner mounting beneath the machine.

Did you use a binder on the clover, or a reaper?

I'm also in Ontario (about an hour East of Toronto)

Thanks again,
Daniel

tomstractorsandtoys · Jan 19, 2019

One thing about clover seed(at least red clover) is that you will also need a seed cleaner. Even the small Clipper 1B's will work great. If there is any green stuff left in with the clover seed it will heat overnight and hurt your germination. Grandfather cut lots of clover with an Allis 66 pull type and he always cleaned it that day or night. I would imagine that when using a threshing machine they used a hay loader to load it onto a wagon then hauled it to the thresher. Tom

Leroy · Jan 19, 2019

I cut loads of red clover seed with AC 60 combines (had 2 of them operating in same field at same time), no scour clean either, And we never had a seed cleaner and no problem. We just put the seed on a clean floor, part time on grainery floor, part tine on a flat bed wagon with side boards. Spread it out at about 6" thick and just morning and evening would go out with a scoop shovel and stir it around and never had a problem, stiring it would get it dried and then it went to the seed house that bought it. If you did not do that stiring and had it too deep it would heat and spoil.

DanielW · Jan 19, 2019

All very goods to know. I bought a Hance vac-away fanning mill a few years ago, only because it was dirt cheap and in mint condition with a full complement of screens. Maybe it's time I dug it out, though it seems pretty small to do any significant amount of cleaning with (I don't know, I've never actually used a seed cleaner).

I also have a collection of scour-kleen screens and parts from my all-crop 90 at another farm. Was wondering if I could rig up some way to run it through a scour-clean right off the thresher. I know the obvious thing to do for clover wouldn't be to use the Allis, but that farm's 2 hours away, and as I mentioned this would be more for curiosity than anything.

Michael Soldan · Jan 19, 2019

We swathed clover with a binder. You just removed the knotter and placed a sheet of tin on back so the clover dropped gently into rows. When it was dry we loaded the swaths onto a flat track by hand , drew it in and threshed it. Later our neighbour bought an Allis All-Crop 90 and we would hire him to combine the swathed rows. It seemed to me clover seed brought pretty good money in those days. The seed dealer was counting out hundred dollar bills for a few bags of seed. Our farm is 15 miles inland from Lake Huron , closest town would be Zurich.

Kevin Happke · Jan 19, 2019

On McCormick Deering Grain Threshers you had to change a bunch of the componets to thresh clover or alfalfa....they included a set special concaves, the sieves to clover sieves with a 1/12 inch hole and different set of perforated straw walkers and also a recleaner with all these componets the thresher would thresh the clover ready to be sold.

rdandersom · Jan 20, 2019

This was a long time ago so I may be remembering wrong. We bought a junk oliver 18 combine for parts. My Dad and the fellow we bought it from got to talking about the combine and the seller said something like that he had combined clover with that combine and the clover seed went into the scour kleen bag and any bigger weed seeds or leaves and chaff went into the bin. I think this was done with the standard scour kleen screen.

mustdive · Jan 20, 2019

(quoted from post at 05:31:09 01/20/19) This was a long time ago so I may be remembering wrong. We bought a junk oliver 18 combine for parts. My Dad and the fellow we bought it from got to talking about the combine and the seller said something like that he had combined clover with that combine and the clover seed went into the scour kleen bag and any bigger weed seeds or leaves and chaff went into the bin. I think this was done with the stan
dard scour kleen screen.

I have an attachment that mounts on a horse drawn sickle mower my Grandfather used it to custom harvest clover and lesspeadesa seed for neighbors it has a seed pan a screen and something like straw walkers that raked across the screen would have to be pretty dry to work the whole thing drove off of wheels that it rode on never seen it work butI saved it fromm the old shed that it was left in over 70 years ago

DanielW · Jan 26, 2019

That's very interesting, and not the first time I've heard of such a
thing. I was told of a similar attachment at a sale near me a few years
ago. I've regretted not seeing/buying it ever since, but I was in school
at the time and money was tight.

Thresher/Binder in Clover

DanielW

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Michael Soldan

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tomstractorsandtoys

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Leroy

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DanielW

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Michael Soldan

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Kevin Happke

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rdandersom

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mustdive

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DanielW

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