Forestry Memories

Caterpillar Twenty and Oliver Twin Plough

Caterpillar Twenty and Oliver Twin Plough

Date Added: 10 January 2014 Contributor: Norman Davidson Year of Photo: 1930 Picture No: 2061

Forestry Commission copyright images of Forest Research photographs courtesy of Glenn Brearley, Roslin. C911

One of a series of seven images taken on the same day of a Caterpillar Twenty tractor pulling two types of plough and a sub soiler. Best information on the back of the images indicates that this was at Allerston Forest in Feb 1930 (Note that Wykeham Forest may be the same location).

Caterpillar Twenty in a flat heather and grass heath in north Yorkshire pulling in this case an Oliver Twin Plough. This is likely to have been some type of demonstration or trial of cultivation machinery and some of the observers can just be seen in the distance on the right hand side (Senior Forestry Commission staff?).

The plough is coping well with these conditions and is demonstrating spaced ploughing. There is no apparent evidence of sub soiling before ploughing but may have been hard to see in the photograph.

Download Large Version (278kB)

Groups: Forest Research, Forestry in Action, Tractors Ploughs and Drainage Machines

2 Comments

I had a Commission Smallholding at Wykeham in the 50's. I had a two furrow Fergy, but on a quite smaller scale than this of course. - Memories!
 Comment left on 21 August 2017 at 13:34 by John W. Robinson
20 years later, after the war, large tracts of moorland was first burned off and thenploughed out, by large single furrow 'Cats' to a depth of 30 ins.
The hardest job for the Planter, was to gallop-back to the 'dump' for another 25 plants. However, according to the conditions, each man could plant up to 500 trees a day. Most of them have matured and been felled today! mmm, time flies! John W.R.

 Comment left on 22 August 2017 at 13:39 by John W. Robinson
Form Goes Here