patent no. 7,209 · m. m. eberhardt & daughter · 1903
an instrument that counts as it loses
a small brass machine designed to count radish or carrot seed, one at a time, as the seed falls from a hopper past an escapement borrowed from a household watch. each seed trips a pallet; each trip advances the dial by a single tooth. the hopper holds a pint; the dial reads to nine-hundred-and-ninety-nine.
it counts. what it does not do is keep the seed. the brass throat is narrow but exact; seeds smaller than a millet rest miss the pallet entirely; seeds larger than a sunflower jam the wheel. mrs. eberhardt's drawer of seeds contains everything the counter rejected, which is most of it. the dial reaches forty-two on a good evening, and the floor below the counter is, by then, sown.
the counter is honest about what it sees. it has no opinion on what it lets fall.
field-note · place on a level table. the floor beneath will need sweeping; collect for next year.
step recorder · dust meter · clockworks · drawer of seeds · number