TRACTOR TRIVIA and other interesting stuff 3/29/2024

[953 nut 55,189]

Jiffy-Till and Jiffy-Cart

 

 

San Diego County, CA, is the acknowledged avocado capital of the nation. Tyler S. McDonald was an enthusiastic proponent of San Diego County’s avocado industry and was also an accomplished mechanic.  McDonald’s interest in agriculture and his mechanical ability bore the fruit of the Jiffy-Till and Jiffy-Cart.

 The Jiffy-Till was a one-handled rototiller with steel “paddle wheels” which provided excellent traction. Introduced in 1948, the Jiffy-Till was powered by an Ultimotor engine, with the option of using a 2 or 3 horsepower. It was available with the paddle wheel steel engine or rubber tires with the “free wheeling” (differential) feature.  Original pricing:  2 H.P. with US Royal Tires – $280.  2 H.P. on metal wheels – $265.  3 H.P. with US Royal Tires – $305.  3 H.P. on metal wheels – $290. Advertisements for the Jiffy-Till appeared nationally publications such as Popular Mechanics, Popular Science, and Farm Implement News, as well as in several West Coast newspapers.

The San Diego Union newspaper, gave an account of the Jiffy-Till in their October 19, 1948 article, titled “La Mesan Develops Small Power Tiller”.  “A La Mesa man, Tyler McDonald, has recently put on the market a new gadget which is designed for the home gardener with an ambitious planting area or the small orchardist.  The machine is called the Jiffy-Till and is designed to chop up the ground to the depths of as much as six inches.  The machine is the second of the tiller family to be developed by McDonald.  He made his first one, a four-horsepower machine, in 1934 and sold the manufacturing rights on it.  The present one, with a 1-1/2 horsepower engine, cut a swath of 16.5 inches.  It is guided by a person who follows at the length of a handle.  Machines are manufactured in Los Angeles and McDonald operates the business from his La Mesa office.  “We are making one-a-day now but could boost production to one-an-hour if the demand made it necessary,” McDonald said.  McDonald, who ran an avocado nursery for 12 years, says he invented the Jiffy-Till to perform the shallow cultivating necessary in young groves.  Lake the larger Roto-Tiller, the machine chops up weeds and cover crops which are left to rot and fertilize.  Therefore, McDonald explains, it is suitable for use in plowless agriculture.”

In 1953 McDonald came up with the Jiffy-Cart, a mechanical cart capable of climbing up slopes.  An article in the San Diego Union, published October 4, 1953, In response to requests from avocado orchardists, McDonald came up with the design and construction of “a vehicle to help in the care and harvest” of avocados.  “The cart has a four-wheel drive and can climb a 30 degree grade with a 200-pound load in addition to the driver.  Power is provided by a 3.5 horsepower, four-cycle, air-cooled gasoline engine.  Extreme maneuverability is afforded by utilization of a caterpillar tractor principle holding the pneumatic wheelbarrow-sized wheels on one side motionless while the other wheels turned. The driver sits on a bicycle-type seat at the rear.  There are no hand controls.  The cart is steered with the feet.”  Later in the article, “A drive shaft emerging between on both sides of the vehicle contains small rubber-covered wheels which fit down against the main wheels – rubber against rubber – to force the cart into motion when the drive shaft turns.  As with the Jiffy-Till, the Jiffy-Cart appeared in Popular Mechanics.

[elcamino/wheelhorse 9,297]

@953 nut I don't know where your find your trivia items, but I love reading them every morning. Much more interesting than the crapola from the talking heads.

[953 nut 55,189]

19 hours ago, elcamino/wheelhorse said:

 I don't know where your find your trivia items, but I love reading them every morning.

Jim, glad you and others enjoy these posts. I don't remember what I was looking for when I stumbled across this Jiffy article but it was interesting enough to save for future posts.  Some of the best and most obscure stuff is a part of or remotely related to something else, I just trip over them while searching out information on a totally different topic.