This room has a variety of interesting old farm equipment. The corn husker, for example, was an early attempt at mechanizing the corn harvest process. It stripped the corn ears of their husks much faster than by doing it by hand. The wooden plough designed to be pulled by an ox or horse allowed farmers to furrow fields much faster than a person doing it with a hoe alone.
Cows in Town
Most people in Fredericton had small gardens on their property, growing various root crops. Those who owned cows did not always keep them properly tethered. The “cow nuisance”, as it was known plagued Fredericton for decades. Cows roamed the streets of Fredericton, grazing or impeding traffic. Early in the 20th century property owners caught not having their livestock tethered were hauled into “cow court” (magistrate’s court) and issued a fine. The large number of high fences visible in old photos of Fredericton were built in order to keep roving bovines out of people’s gardens.
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