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Before antibiotics and vaccinations were available, hog oilers were popular implements on farms in the early 20th century. It was believed that the oil would smother the biting insect pests.

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Who can resist the mouth-watering smell of fresh bread, cakes and pies!

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An artesian well is simply a well that taps underground water that is under pressure and does not require a pump to bring it to the surface. An aquifer is an underground layer of water bearing porous rock. An artesian aquifer has water trapped between impermeable layers of shale or clay. Being trapped between the layers creates positive pressure. So, when a well is drilled, it releases the pressure and allows the water to come to the surface. If there is a lot of pressure, the water comes out as a fountain or geyser. The James River Valley, stretching from Yankton to Jamestown, North ��ֱ����, is a large artesian well district. This artesian well district was featured in the April 6, 1889, Scientific American magazine.

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Hog scrapers are used to scrape the small hairs off hog hides which removes some bacteria and gets the hide ready for the next step in meat processing. Before scraping the hair off, the butcher could either soak the carcass in warm water or singe the hair with fire before scraping to make the process more efficient. These scrapers are made with a wooden handle and a slightly domed iron scraper. Other designs included a full iron design for the handle and scraper. In large scale meat processing today, scrapers are no longer used extensively as the same process can be automated by fire, soaking, then tossing the carcass in a tumbler that takes any remaining hair off. This hog scraper was used by the Meats Lab located in the Stock Judging Pavilion before it was repurposed into the Agricultural Heritage Museum.

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The Haugh Meter is a micrometer that measures the thickness of the albumen (egg white) closest to the yolk.

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Milk and dairy products have been a significant part of the landscape at SDSU. This cap represents the ones used in the Dairy Science Department, which made cheese, butter, and of course, ice cream.

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The John Deere A tractor is a tractor of firsts.

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Small songbirds have been popular pets over the years. Many pioneer women kept canaries, parakeets or finches for their beauty, companionship and for their song. Birdcages are often seen in photographs of pioneer homes as well as in urban Victorian home interiors. This Art Deco style wire cage is painted pale yellow, has two wooden perches and two white ceramic feeders. On the door of the cage is a metal tag reading "Hendryx New Haven, Conn. USA.”

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Made of plaster and wire, this instructional model of a tobacco hornworm was used in early South ��ֱ���� State University biology and entomology classes. Hinges on the outside allow the model to be opened to view the worm’s internal organs, which lift out in one piece. In the photograph, the 48 inch long model is being examined by three students and Professor Severin. This photograph appeared in the 1911 Jackrabbit.  

Tobacco hornworms are found throughout the United States and are related to the tomato hornworms. Despite their fierce appearance, they are harmless to humans. However, their larva are common pests to tomatoes, tomatillos, potatoes, eggplants, bell peppers and chili peppers. The worm lays eggs on the leaves of the plants and as the larvae grow, they eat the plants leaves. Eventually they eat down to the tubers and roots of the plants and cause considerable damage to garden and commercial crops. The adult stage of this creature is the hawk moth.

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Arbor Day was the brainchild of Julius Sterling Morton, a Nebraska newspaperman, pioneer and avid tree planter. Pioneers moving to the treeless prairies missed the cool, green trees of home, so they made it a priority to plant trees.

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At the top of the list of good, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, An Old Farmer’s Advice, notes fences that work for many ��ֱ����s and come in many forms. This week’s What’s New Wednesday celebrates the barbed wire in a collection of various styles representing many, many different patterns and uses.

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The John Morrell & Co brand goes hand in hand with meat production in South ��ֱ����, as they established a packing plant in Sioux Falls over 100 years ago. However, the history of the Morrell name dates back to nearly 200 years ago.

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Any child in the early 20th century would have been excited to see their very own pony cart under the Christmas tree.  This dapple pedal pony has leather ears, glass eyes, and a tail made from horsehair.

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The Little Brown Jug is an early version of a thermos. The jug is tin skin over stoneware liner, a metal stopper with a rubber gasket and a metal cap that acts a drinking cup. The jug label declares that it “keeps foods or liquids hot or cold. Butter, milk, water, coffee, lemonade, set.”  It was manufactured by the T. T. Macomb Manufacturing Co., Macomb, Illinois. Jugs like these were used when camping or taking refreshment to the harvesters in the fields.

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In honor of May being National Egg Month, we are featuring an item from the museum’s poultry collection. Used by poultry growers, egg stamps are used to label or brand a grower’s eggs for market. This “Chick Egg Stamp” has a wooden handle with a small plunger. When the plunger is pushed down the rubber stamp end marks the egg with blanks to write in the date the egg went to market and another blank for the date the egg was laid.

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