Van Brunt Seed Drill

One of the most important steps in framing crops is to plant the seeds to grow the crops. For centuries, this process would have been done by hand, up until the British Agricultural Revolution (aka the Second Agricultural Revolution) of the 17th to 19th century where the seed drill was first invented during thai time. This Van Brunt Seed Drill on display was made by the John Deere-Van Brunt Company, around 1913 to 1919.

This 5-row seeder has a large wooden hopper with metal sides and is painted red with yellow lettering "VB" on ends. Seeds go in the hopper and the lever inside is marked with measurements for oats, barley, wheat and peas to adjust size of holes for allowing seeds through. The five iron metal disks dig trenches and a metal chain, attached to the large spoked yellow painted wheel in front, turns to release seeds through hole openings inside the hopper. The body of the seeder is iron metal painted green. There is a wooden bar in front with green painted metal hooks on ends that the horse would pull from. Wooden handles have green metal levers below curved grips for adjusting height of disks and angle of handles. Handles are mounted to the hopper and are supported by two metal vertical bars with a horizontal cross bar at bottom and two solid metal yellow painted wheels with round perforations throughout on either side. Round metal circles hang from S-hooks behind cylinders that drop seeds to spread dirt over seed once dropped.

In 1860, George Van Brunt carved a model of a force-feed device for a seeder out of a turnip, a design that later became known as the fluted force feed which is still used on non-air grain drills today. Van Brunt and his brother, Daniel, built seven seeders in their shop in Mayville, Wisconsin that year, but moved it to Horicon,Wisconsin the next year. About this time, George left the firm, but Daniel persevered, patenting several improvements to his grain drill. By the end of the Civil War, Van Brunt Manufacturing Company was a successful firm, and by 1910, was a major supplier of grain seeding machinery in the upper Midwest and the Plains states. In 1911, the company was acquired by John Deere, which continued to occult seeders under the John Deere-Van Brunt name.

Artifacts Are Us