Since Holt built his combines in northern California I was wondering if anyone tried harvesting much rice with them. Another old farm iron board had a combine that someone wanted identified, a Holt for sure. But discussion turned to many types of thrashing systems  of combines.  The Holt used spike tooth cylinder to beat the grain apart, which has been used in rice a lot. But I have never heard of the old combines in rice. What little looking for history said first rice research in California on commercial rice growing was 1912. But no idea how long before there was much acreage.

But the more I thought as I am typing this could be they did not. Green weeds in the wheat, oats, or barley here big trouble in the JD 36b. Since rice straw is on the green side from my limited knowledge, would be very trying to combine rice.

So any from rice country in California know if the Holts where used much to combine rice.

Interesting question.

I am not familiar with the rice in CA before the 1970's but I doubt it if a Holt was ever considered for rice. The reason is that I believe that rice was cut by binders and the bundles shocked allowing the grain to dry before threshing well into the 1930's. Then it went to the thresher. Rice was tough to harvest compared to wheat. The next version was to windrow the rice and run it through a combine but I think it was well beyond Holt's day. Just my 2 cents and nothing factual to back it up.

We had a couple neighbors that would go down to Califoria to harvest rice after they were done with harvest here.  The guy I knew said they used a 36 and pulled it with a Sixty Caterpillar. The 36 was on skids so it would slide over the mud.  They used a sixty because they would go through more mud I’m told.  This would have been in the late fifties.  

BP.  

Good to know, that is the stories I was looking for. Was hope those who lived in the Sacramento valley come forward with the uncle xxxxx said we tried, or we did it.