Pharm and Filately

November is the time of the year when Rob gets a chance to revisit his hobby.  That means you all get to see some of postal history and philatelic stuff he likes.

If you also enjoy this sort of thing - good for you!  If you think it's ok in small doses - also good for you.  If you dislike it.  Um...  Too bad, I'm still doing this!

Uniformity in production was prized in 1896.

One of the collections I am working on is a horticulture/agriculture related theme.  Of course, the closer they get to what we do, the happier I am.  And, yes, I do tend to favor the older material that has stamps on them.

That said - take a look at the carrots shown above.  Lohrman Seed Company was hoping you would notice the uniform shape and size of the carrots on the envelope here.  So, it is not exactly a new thing that growers and consumers emphasize looks, sometimes to the detriment of other qualities.  But, I will say one thing about carrots and uniform sizes.  If you want them to be uniform, you have to spend alot of time thinning the plants to make sure spacing is just right.  I'm afraid I'm not willing to do that.  And, frankly, alot of people like the smaller carrots and others like the bigger carrots.  So, we'll do fine with what we're doing.

You may also note that these carrots look pretty stocky and shorter.  At the time of this mailing, there were more efforts in developing shorter root carrots for growers with rockier or shallower soils.

Wheel hoes and wheeled seeders.  They've been around for a bit.

The Planet Jr. models for wheel hoes and wheeled seeders are often credited or some of the very tools we use on the farm today.  I haven't had the time to determine if the root of this model came from them or not, but I can tell you that when you tell another person who farms like we do that we use a Planet Jr type wheel hoe, they will typically understand.

S.L. Allen and Co also sold Flexible Flyer sleds.  Why am I telling you this?  I don't know.  Why not? 

Reverse of the Planet Jr envelope

Oh wait!  That's why I told you about Flexible Flyer - it's mentioned on the back of the envelope.  A little diversity in their product line. 

The picture depicted on the reverse side is interesting, to say the least.  That is one *big* field for five guys to cultivate with wheel hoes.  And, the rows seem pretty clean already.  However, I have to admit that this is probably the best time to be cultivating - before the weeds are terribly evident.  But, we all know the ideal is rarely reached. 

Why aren't any of the people in this picture wearing a red hat?  Strange.