Its purpose is to quickly grade eggs according to weight. A heavier egg will lift more of the horizontal tin strips. The weight is indicated by figures etched to the left of the tin strips. These figures represent the egg grades. The egg I placed on the scale measured 28 on the scale, this means that a dozen of those eggs weighs about 28 ounces.
This scale was used by small egg producers to grade their eggs. Based upon the grades, these eggs were then bartered for credit at the local store.
The close-up didn't turn out as well as I had hoped, but etched on the front of the scale is its original patent date of June 24, 1924. Very cool.
A bit more information and some additional photos can be found here.
Very very cool tool! I love these kind of things. They are useful and interesting all at the same time.
ReplyDeleteWhat a thoughtful brother in law you have. Don't you love when someone sees an unusual item and thinks of you? One of my brothers in law brought me a huge box of kindling and a log rack. I loved both.
ReplyDeleteWell that was the perfect gift for you farmgirl! I know you will charish it! Hope the girls are well and that little Roxy is being a good girl. Daisy Lu saw 4 bunnies under the bird feeder yesterday evening and she almost blew a gasket!!! I had to put her on her leash to go potty last night or she might have found her way down a bunny hole!!!!
ReplyDeletewhat an amazing present to receive! very thoughtful and very fun! ps. happy late birthday!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great gift you got!
ReplyDeleteVery nice! What a great gift, your BIL is a winner.
ReplyDeleteYour chicks are adorable, it SO makes me want to get more.... But how to choose! The Top Hats are so cute, but the Silver Laced W's look like they will be gorgeous birds!
I love my Comets, though, very low maintenance.
Isn't it amazing how quickly they grow. One minute you're teaching them to drink, and the next, they are flying across the brooder.
Have fun, good job getting the coop started!
Ali
Hi farmer jen - I had never heard of this before he handed it to me. I love thinking about the ways small farmers used to manage their farms.
ReplyDeleteHi sugarcreekstuff - We don't see each other much, so it was just the most thoughtful thing. Everyone thought I was a bit nerdy, though, when I asked all these questions about it and, when they couldn't answer them, then had to pull out my laptop to find out all the details and stats on it. :-) I think he was really pleased that it made me so happy!
Hi eve - Bunnies, really! I can only imagine that Roxy's reaction would have been similar. She goes berserk when the huge silver squirrel comes and sits on our feeder. I always worry about her little heart at that point. :-)
Hi mindi - Thanks for the bday wishes, although, at this point, I'd be completely ok just foregoing the whole birthday thing and just staying the age I am, you know? :-)
Hi judy - Yeah, I was pretty tickled. As you know, I'm a bit chicken and egg-obsessed right now. ;-)
Hi ali - thanks for commenting! I haven't heard of Comets yet. I'll need to look them up. Funny that you would mention my SL Wyandottes - one of them has become my fave. She will run to the edge of the box to see me and sits in my hand to eat dried oatmeal. She's a very brave little honey. The rest of the chicks look at her in awe. :-)
and her Mom said,
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful gift. It was interesting to see how they did things back in the 1920s. Thanks for sharing the photos.
I just love the egg grading scale.
ReplyDeleteIt looks so country too! Plus useful. Now, when those cute chicks get to laying just think what you can barter for a fresh dozen eggs. Endless possibilities!