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PICKER
PICKER

PICKER

Dimensions60 x 183 x 61 cm
Object numberHF.73.74.20
DescriptionPotato beetle picker with two handles that are joined to a longitudinal piece that runs forward and down to a frame that supports a wheel. When the wheel runs along the ground it turns a bevel gear causing a double pulley in the centre of the machine to rotate. Two belts run from this pulley out to two bladed paddles that knock bugs into a metal tray suspended under the machine by leather straps. On the top of the longitudinal piece there is text that reads "Hunter's Potato Bug Picker Pat. Dec. 20 1894 Allan Hunter Dundas".



Narrative
Patented by Allen Hunter from Dundas, PEI, this picker was used to deal with the pesky potato beetle. The governments of the day had other plans, mandating the use of Paris Green, an arsenic-based pesticide. The picker eventually fell out of use, but as the interest in organic farming has returned, old methods of pest control such as this are coming back into favour.