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{{Short description|Agricultural tool}} |
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[[Image:CompostBinTube wb.jpg|thumb|A pitchfork next to a [[compost]] bin]] |
[[Image:CompostBinTube wb.jpg|thumb|A pitchfork next to a [[compost]] bin]] |
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The term may also be applied colloquially to the [[garden fork]], though to do so is inaccurate. While similar in appearance, the garden fork is shorter and stockier than the pitchfork, with thicker tines intended for turning or loosening the soil of [[garden]]s. |
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==Alternate terms== |
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In some parts of England, a pitchfork is known as a ''prong''<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.abebooks.com/Song-Season-Hundred-Years-Sussex-Farming/18616217008/bd |last=Copper |first=Bob |date=1975 |pp=112 |title=A Song for Every Season: A Hundred Years of a Sussex Farming Family |publisher=Paladin, St. Albans, Hertfordshire |accessdate=August 26, 2019}}</ref>. In parts of Ireland, the term ''sprong'' is used to refer specifically to a four-pronged pitchfork.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books/about/English_As_We_Speak_It_in_Ireland.html?id=XwAoI3gso1gC |author=[[Patrick Weston Joyce|Joyce, P. W.]] |date=2009 |title=English As We Speak It in Ireland |work=Read Books |pp=832|accessdate=August 26, 2019}}</ref> |
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==Description== |
==Description== |
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The typical pitchfork consists of a fork bearing two or more [[Tine (structural)|tines]] fixed to one end of a handle. Pitchfork tines are typically made of metals such as [[steel]], [[wrought iron]], or some other [[alloy]], though [[wood]] or [[bamboo]] tines may also be employed. The handle of a pitchfork is commonly made of wood, sometimes sheathed or shielded with [[rubber]] or [[plastic]]. |
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True pitchforks typically have two or three tines while manure forks have four or more. However, some forks with more than three tines are also used for handling loose material such as hay or [[silage]].<ref name="FarmCollector">{{cite web|url=https://www.farmcollector.com/steam-traction/why-all-pitchforks-are-not-alike |title=Why All Pitchforks Are Not Alike |date=October 1996 |last=Rhode |first=Dr. Robert T. |work=Farm Collector |accessdate=February 4, 2016}}</ref> Other forks may exhibit up to ten tines. |
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The number of tines and the spacing between them is determined by the intended usage of the fork. Forks with larger numbers of tines and closer spacing are intended to carry or move loose material such as dirt, sand, [[silage]], or large, coarse grains. Forks with fewer, more widely-spaced tines are intended to hold [[hay]], [[straw]], and other self-supporting or bulky materials.<ref name="FarmCollector" /> |
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==History== |
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In Europe, the pitchfork was first used in the early [[Middle Ages]], at about the same time as the [[harrow (tool)|harrow]].{{citation needed|date=February 2016}} The pitchfork was originally made entirely of wood; today, the tynes are usually made of hard metal.<ref name=FarmCollector/> |
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In Europe, the pitchfork was first used in the early [[Middle Ages]], at about the same time as the [[harrow (tool)|harrow]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=McNeill |first1=J. R |last2=Stewart Mauldin |first2=Erin |title=A Companion to Global Environmental History |date=November 2012 |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |isbn=9781118977538 |page=342 |edition=1st}}</ref> Such pitchforks were made entirely of wood, lacking the metal tines of later pitchforks.<ref name=FarmCollector/> |
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⚫ | Historically, pitchforks were occasionally employed as [[improvised weapon]]s by individuals who could not afford or did not have access to specialized, more expensive weapons such as swords or guns.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://medieval-period.com/medievalmen.html |title=Medieval Men |publisher=Medieval-Period.com |accessdate=February 13, 2014}}</ref> As a result, pitchforks and scythes are stereotypically carried by angry [[Crowd|mobs]] or gangs of enraged peasants. |
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==Symbolism, literary and artistic references== |
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[[File:Winslow Homer (American, 1836–1910), Farmer with a Pitchfork. Oil on board.jpg|thumb|left|''Farmer with a Pitchfork'', by [[Winslow Homer]], 1874]] |
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==In popular culture== |
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===Artistic usage=== |
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===Artwork=== |
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⚫ | A notable American artistic display of a three-pronged pitchfork is in ''[[American Gothic]]'', the painting by [[Grant Wood]] |
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[[File:Grant Wood - American Gothic - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|right|''[[American Gothic]]'', by [[Grant Wood]], 1930]] |
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⚫ | A notable American artistic display of a three-pronged pitchfork is in ''[[American Gothic]]'', the 1930 painting by [[Grant Wood]]. There are other paintings by various artists which depict a wide variety of pitchforks and other tools in use and at rest.<ref>{{cite web|last=Ritch |first=Alan |url=http://www.hayinart.com/002613.html |title=Resting in the hay (1592-1900) |publisher=Hay In Art |date=February 6, 2006|accessdate=February 13, 2014}}</ref> |
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===Political usage=== |
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[[File:Hendrick Goltzius 003.jpg|thumb|Pluto holding a bident in a woodcut from the Gods and Goddesses series of Hendrick Goltzius (1588-89)]] |
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* "Pitchfork Ben" ([[Benjamin Tillman]]) |
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* "Pitchfork Pat" ([[Pat Buchanan]]) |
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===Politics=== |
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⚫ | The Gangster Disciples, a street gang in the midwestern United States, use [[Gangster Disciples#Markings and symbols|a three-pointed pitchfork]] as one of their symbols.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gutierrez |first1=Carl D. |title=Asset Protection for the 21st Century |url=https://www.fmi.org/docs/loss/Gangs_and_the_Food_Industry.pdf |website=Food Marketing Institute |publisher=Food Marketing Institute |accessdate=27 August 2019}}</ref> |
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===Religious symbolism=== |
===Religious symbolism=== |
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The pitchfork is often used in lieu of the [[trident]] in satire of [[Symbols and symbolism in Christian demonology|Christian demonology]] |
The pitchfork is often used in lieu of the [[trident]] in popular portrayals and satire of [[Symbols and symbolism in Christian demonology|Christian demonology]]. Many humorous cartoons, both [[animation|animated]] and otherwise, feature a [[caricature]] of a [[devil|demon]] supposedly wielding a "pitchfork" (often actually a [[trident]]) sitting [[Shoulder angel|on one shoulder]] of the protagonist, opposite an [[angel]] on the other shoulder.{{Citation needed|date=October 2013}} |
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The [[Greek mythology|Hellenistic deity]] [[Pluto (mythology)|Pluto]] wields a [[bident]], a two-pronged weapon similar in form to a pitchfork but actually related to the [[trident]] in design and purpose. |
The [[Greek mythology|Hellenistic deity]] [[Pluto (mythology)|Pluto]] wields a [[bident]], a two-pronged weapon similar in form to a pitchfork but actually related to the [[trident]] in design and purpose. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
{{Reflist}} |
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==External links== |
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{{Garden tools}} |
{{Garden tools}} |