Massey Harris Orchard Sprayer - Castlegar, BC
Posted by: 
T0SHEA
N 49° 17.879 W 117° 38.383
11U E 453489 N 5460778
The orchard sprayer was (and remains) as necessary a piece of machinery to the orchardist as is the combine or the seeder to the grain farmer. This is the first Massey sprayer that we've come across, so I thought it to be a great first entry for us.
Waymark Code: WMFCPZ
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 09/29/2012
Views: 5
This sprayer was found at the Doukhobor village/museum in Castlegar, BC. As a rough guide to its costliness, in 1931 it would have sold for $353, at a time when the average annual revenue for orchards in the Okanagan was between $1200 and $1300. The Name Plate on the engine contains serial number 1K4383, which makes the date of manufacture of the engine late 1929 or early 1930. It follows that the sprayer was probably manufactured in 1930
Manufactured by Massey Harris of Canada in Ontario, it employs a 1 1/2 hp Massey Harris Type 2 stationary gasoline/kerosene engine, made in Ontario, and an F. E. Myers and Bro. Co. pressure pump, manufactured in Ashland, Ohio. The output of these powered a single hand sprayer. Its tank had a capacity of 50 gallons and the sprayer itself was mounted on skids, requiring its being mounted on a wagon for mobility.
By 1911, the Doukhobors had planted 50,000 fruit trees in the area, so it is expected that they eventually owned more than one of these sprayers. Their orchards and fruit fields continued to expand, to the point where they purchased the Kootenay Jam Factory, then located on Front Street in Nelson, BC, and in 1915 relocated it to Brilliant, the Doukhobor community across the Columbia River from Castlegar.
Use or Purpose of Equipment: Applying water borne pesticides to fruit and other trees and crops
Approximate age: 82 years
Manufacturer and model: Massey Harris Co. Ltd. 1 1/2 hp
Still in Use?: No
Location:
This sprayer is at the north end of the Doukhobor museum in Castlegar, BC.
Fee for Access: no
|
Visit Instructions:
To visit a waymark please post an original picture of the equipment and a short description of your experience.
Recent Visits/Logs:
| There are no logs for this waymark yet. |
|
|
|