A manure fork was an essential tool on a farm for cleaning out barns and spreading manure for fertilizer. Manure is heavy and laced with straw and forks work better than shovels for this task.  The owner of this fork, Consider Dickinson (1761-1854) burned his initials into the handle. Although the fields were owned by individual farmers, the men often cared for them collectively; branding one’s tools with initials was a practical way to assure their return at the end of a day.