Cole One Horse Planters

from the Davila archives

The most populous single horse planting tools were made by Planet Junior. But they were by no means the only company producing these small farm gems. Most manufacturers included a few models and some, like Planet Junior, American and Cole specialized in the implement. What follows are fourteen different models from Cole’s, circa 1910, catalog. We published ten of these in volume 30 number three of Small Farmer’s Journal. While you could use a big drafter on these planters, small, short, or light horses and mules would do just fine, In fact, a good, straight, slow-walking light horse or mule made this excellent tool sing with effectiveness. Cole was ingenious and fine-tuned their engineering to many subtle variants. Some of these planters had plate or opening mechanisms which were triggered mechanically by arms pushing from center of wheel, while others employed chain drives to allow for seed pots to ride forward. Some featured wide cupped wheels to press the planted soil, while some, like the Cotton Planter No. 1, featured a paddled foot that pressed the soil after planting. Some were double-potted to allow for fertilizing, some had triggers at the handles to allow the farmer to select the planting spots or stop and go positions. Nothing high-tech, or GMO, about these sweethearts, everyone designed and built by people whose DNA was intact and original material. Each of these implements had intended use written all over them. LRM