[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] RE: Ger-Poland-Volhynia digest, Vol 1 #279 - 7 msgs

[Allyn Brosz]

Dick,

I did grow up on a farm and I do read German and speak it
less well, but my vocabulary doesn't include many of the
words on your list. However, I do have an inkling of what
some of them mean and I supplemented my hunches with some
Google-surfing.

Rosswerk (aka "Goepel") is perhaps best translated as a
"horse capstan", that being the apparatus to which horses
(or oxen) are hitched. As they plod around in a circle, the
horsepower is transferred to the attached machinery, such as
a mill or a waterpump. The following link provides a
picture:  http://www.sar.admin.ch/fat/d/port/agrokb_2000.pdf
Another link:
http://www.muenzengalerie.de/info/lexi/htm/r/Rosswerk.htm,
gives a brief description of a Rosswerk and says that
various mints used the Rosswerk for power into the 18th
century.

"Spitzdrescher" and "Breitdrescher" are indeed threshers,
albeit small to the point of being portable. I found a
picture of a Spitzendrescher at this web site:
http://www.huemmerich.com/muset/mus01.htm and the text seems
to suggest that a Spitzdrescher and a "Stiftdrescher" are
synonymous. This web site displays both a Stiftendrescher
and a Breitendrescher.

The Getreidereiniger is also known as a "Putzmuehle", either
name suggesting that the machine cleans grain. My father
called the machine a fanning mill and every kernel of oats
had to be run through this machine before it was fit for
spring seeding.

Finally, I believe the Muehlenwalze are the same threshing
rollers that were used by my Bessarabian ancestors before
the mechanical threshing machines were available. They were
fluted and had a chain or a metal handle attached at each
end so they could be pulled across the grain, which was
spread out on the threshing floor, separating the grain from
the straw.

Finally, the following Swiss web link takes a while to load
but it will tell you more than you ever wanted to know about
harvesting techniques, from the beginning of time to the
latest high tech megamachines.

http://n.ethz.ch/student/niklausa/download/Maehdrescher.pdf

Best Wishes
Allyn




> From: " Richard Benert" <benovich at montanadsl.net>
> To: "SGGEE Mail List"
> <ger-poland-volhynia at eclipse.sggee.org>
> Date: Thu, 24 Oct 2002 18:42:55 -0400
> Subject: [Ger-Poland-Volhynia] translation help
>
> I hope some German-speaking farmers can help me
> with translating some terms
> for farm machines.  They don't occur in my
> Cassell's dictionary.  Here they
> are:
>
> Rosswerk (isn't this a threshing machine drawn by horses?)
> Spitzdrescher
> Breitdrescher
> Getreidereiniger
> M|hlenwalze (mill roller?)
>
> Thanks for any help.
>
> Dick Benert