Apitchforkorhay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials.
The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to the garden fork. While similar in appearance, the garden fork is shorter and stockier than the pitchfork, with three or four thicker tines intended for turning or loosening the soilofgardens.
In some parts of England, a pitchfork is known as a prong.[1] In parts of Ireland, the term sprong is used to refer specifically to a four-pronged pitchfork.[2]
The typical pitchfork consists of a wooden shaft bearing two to five slightly curved metal tines fixed to one end of a handle. These are typically made of steel, wrought iron, or some other alloy, though historically woodorbamboo were used. Unlike a garden fork, a pitchfork lacks a grab at the end of its handle.
Pitchforks with few tines set far apart are typically used for bulky material such as hayorstraw; those with more and more closely spaced are used for looser materials such as silage, manure, leaves, or compost.[3]
Paintings by various artists depict a wide variety of pitchforks in use and at rest.[6] A notable American work is American Gothic (1930) by Grant Wood, which features a three-pronged tool.
The pitchfork is often used in lieu of the visually similar weapon, the trident, in popular portrayals and satire of Christian demonology. Many humorous cartoons, both animated and otherwise, feature a caricature of a demon ostensibly wielding a "pitchfork" (often actually a trident) sitting on one shoulder of a protagonist, opposite an angel on the other.[citation needed]
^McNeill, J. R; Stewart Mauldin, Erin (November 2012). A Companion to Global Environmental History (1st ed.). Wiley-Blackwell. p. 342. ISBN9781118977538.
^"Medieval Men". Medieval-Period.com. Archived from the original on August 12, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2014.