You think your job is tough? Try being a manure spreader in the 1800s.

Spreading manure was one of the most unpleasant and labor-intensive jobs on a farm, and it needed to be done properly to be effective: too much manure in one spot could “burn” the soil, so clumps needed to be broken up before they were tossed on the field with a pitchfork.

So imagine the cheers of relief that likely went up from workers when a good mechanical manure spreader was introduced to the farm, like this International Harvester Manure Spreader No. 3, which helped farmers recycle the bounty of the soil back into the land – and relieved for other jobs the four or more people that used to have to scoop up the raw manure and spread it across many acres of fields.

But just what makes this particular manure spreader, circa 1905, worthy of our Pic of the Month? Read on to find out!