Historical information

Chaff cutter. Bentall - 1913. Used to cut straw or hay into small pieces before being mixed together with other forage and fed to horses and cattle. Used on a small mixed farm in Emerald originally purchased by C. T. Alexander in 1920.

Significance

A chaff cutter was an essential piece of equipment in early farms - of which there were many in the Emerald area - which were highly dependent on horsepower for agricultural work until the widespread use of tractors in the second half of the twentieth century.

Physical description

Chaff cutter with cast iron frame containing two sets of teeth which are connected to gears which are connected to a large wheel operated by hand.
Missing from this particular chaff cutter are the cover for the gears, part of the handle, and the wooden chute into which the stalks were fed.

Inscriptions & markings

Embossed on main chassis: 'BENTALL'S IMPROVED CHAFF CUTTER / 1913 / MALDON ENGLAND'.
Embossed on wheel: 'BENTALL'S HEYBRIDGE MALDON ENGLAND / 1382'.
Embossed on cover over feeder teeth: 'CDC BENTALL'.
Embossed on feeder entrance: '947'.