Glossary of Terms

Many of the terms that Wade utilizes in the interviews may be unfamiliar to readers who are not exposed to farming terminology.  So, here is a listing of terms to aid in the understanding of Wade's life stories.

Binder-a machine to cut wheat.  It has a sickle-bar to cut the stems and a table to carry the stems inside the binder where they are bound into sheaves and then dropped in piles on the ground.

Crawler-a bulldozer with a blade to push dirt and usually a three-point hitch to hook implements up to the back.

Kents Ridge-a community in Claypool Hill, Virginia on the ridge of a hill where a small airport is located.

Paint Lick-a community on Paint Lick Mountain, named so for the Native American paintings found in a ledge on the mountain.

Side-delivery rake-a hay rake that leaves a windrow of hay beside and parallel to the path of the tractor.  Horse-drawn rakes left a windrow perpendicular to the path of the horse.  The rake may be either powered by the tractor's power-take-off shaft or by its own wheels.

Water beds-a framework of 2x6 boards lined with black plastic sheeting and filled with water.  Tobacco plants are floated in Styrofoam flats between the time they are sprouted and when they are transplanted into the field.  The plants' roots extend into the water, and fertilizer is added to the water at metered rates to speed up or slow down plant growth.

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