General Information

Serial #

N/A

Part Number

1

Total Parts

3

AKA

N/A

Patents

N/A

General Description

Non-ferrous metal bell/ Ferrous metal hanger

Dimensions

Note: These reflect the general size for storage and are not necessarily representative of the object's true dimensions.

Length

63.0 cm

Width

48.0 cm

Height

54.0 cm

Thickness

N/A

Weight

N/A

Diameter

N/A

Volume

N/A

Lexicon

Group

Agriculture

Category

Barns & buildings

Sub-Category

N/A

Manufacturer

AKA

Unknown

Country

Unknown

State/Province

Unknown

City

Unknown

Context

Country

Canada

State/Province

Ontario

Period

Circa 1900 to1996

Canada

The first dairy barn on the Central Experimental Farm was constructed c.1886-1887 and burned down in 1912. Almost immediately a new barn was erected on the same footprint, although it differed somewhat in terms of architecture. Both barns featured tails, one running south and another southwest, both of which by the 1950s was being used to house beef cattle and a number of Clydesdale work horses. Another feature that was common to both barns was a bell mounted in an open cupola on the southernmost point of the roof peak. In 1996 there was a disastrous fire in which the southwest tail barn was lost along with a large number of the beef cattle housed inside. During the “clean-up” afterwards the bell that would have been mounted during the c.1913 reconstruction was found amid the debris. That bell was set aside by then Canada Agriculture Museum staff and placed in an exhibit case when building 151 (the barn that was built to replace the tail and to house the beef breeds) was opened. The bell has “Experimental Farm” in raised letters around the bottom lip so clearly it was cast expressly for the CEF.

Function

A device that sounds a musical tone when struck, which serves as a signal, in this case to farm workers.

Technical

Bells have traditionally been used on large farms to serve as a means of signaling to labourers working in fields at a distance from the house or barn. The ringing sound of the bell would carry a much greater distance than the human voice and did not require someone to travel out to the field to confer with labourers/family. In many instances most notably among Ontario’s Amish and Mennonite communities the bell was mounted at one end of the peak of the main residence’s roof. A rope hung down close to the ground so the clapper could be activated when necessary. The bell was used to signal things as mundane as meal-time as well as to inform family members and labourers of an emergency requiring their immediate attention. When the CEF was still being worked by horses this bell would have been used to signal to staff working in the fields and test plots located south from the main dairy barn. Obviously with the arrival of internal combustion tractors its ability to “catch the attention” of farm staff would have been severely limited.

Area Notes

Unknown

Details

Markings

Cast lettering above mouth reads 'EXPERIMENTAL FARM'

Missing

Unknown

Finish

Dark grey

Decoration

Cat line of ornamentation above mouth