(Page 4 of 13) Print Version
TRACTOR POWER
Potato harvester, Mapleton, ca. 1940
Presque Isle Historical Society
Two row potato digger, ca. 1935
Southern Aroostook Agricultural Museum
One-row diggers were still used even after tractors were introduced. The tractor powers the mechanical parts of this digger through a drive on the back of the tractor that is connected to the digger. The photograph on the left provides a good view of the lags on the digger bed.
Tractors were soon pulling two-row diggers so that by the late 1940s there were few one-row diggers in use. The digger shown here required a person to ride on the digger to adjust the front of the digger so that it will cut into the row at the right height.
Later tractors had levers powered by a hydraulic pump that would allow the tractor driver to control the digger. eliminating the need for a rider to operate the controls.