Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1867-08-07

can adjust the machine to different quantity as
readily as rlo'k Is regulated Three bushels of
oats or one hushe and a half Of wheat is the ori-
nary allowance 70 an acre. The machine rdws
and partially covers the grain. When it is new
ground, we 20 over 10 two or three times with A
harrow, aud then we give it in charge TO sunshine
aud rain and dew and air till the harvest-time.
We have also what call sod corn and sod
potatoes. We simply thrust an ak and a spade
IN between the sods, drop the corn, aud cover it
with the heel but 1t does not yield the best CROP
For sod potatoes we plow one furrow and plant
the potatoes in 1t about eighteen inches apart and
close to the land side, then plow another furrow
which covers them. The potatoes come up be-
tween The sods Then we plow three burrows and
drop another row Of potatoes. In this manner we
get our best crop Of potatoes. They need no
hoeing. The land is necessarily free from weeds
for there seeds for the weeds to spring from
In breaking this ground, the shallower we plow
the better. We want our iurrow only two and
hall or three inches deep. In harvest-time we
plow as al planting. That turns the sod over and
throws up the potatoes. We have three or four
men or boys TO follow and gather the potatoes
which we have unearthed We have now not on
y an excellent crop of potatoes, but we have tho
land IN better condition for next years wheat
crop than II we had not planted the potatoes. .
Now, then. my statistican, what is the net gain
on our potatoesy
But while we have been talking about the pota-
toes, May and June and July have been busy in
our fields, and the wheat is ripeued. We know
neither sickle nor cradle here but we bring up the
horses and the header. The header aims straight
at the heads Of the wheat designing to get only
as much straw as is necessary in order 10 secure
all the heads 1t leaves the stubbe from one and
half to two feet high. man steers the machine
with a rudder, as YOU steer a boat The rudder
is a castor wheel. The horses are harnessed in
behind the header, and move it like wheelbarrow,
and cannot 60 wrong They have simply to go
wherever the header is stecred. A header has
four horses abreast, two each side of the tongue
10 often cuts twenty-five acres a day, sometimes
thirty the average is about eighteen / he slight
est rain stops work The machine clogs, and
grain must not be stacked while damp. The head
er is accompanied by the racks and each rack has
two horses and driver. The header-rack is a
floor platform on wheels, with sides of canvas,
to catch the grain thrown from the header We
begin our harvesting in July. We first find the
center Of our big lot then steer our header
straight for that center, cutting swath as we 20
ten feet wide Our rack is on the left of the hea-
der, aud when first enter, of course we have to
trample the grain sadly But why, O extravagant
western farmer do you not send a man in before
hand TO cut down swarh with his own right arm
and so save all the tramphng! "Oh!n says my
lord, " when working with fourteen men
and ten horses it won't do to bother about hand
iul of wheat So they laugh to scorn our con-
tracted New England ideas Of economy. Having
gained the center, the header, and its devoted
wife, the rack, 90 round in as small circle as
possible say two or three rods in circumference,
and then begin to stack. The grain when cut by
the header is thrown by an endless apron, revolv-
ing like belt, into the header rack on its left
This apron is about thirty feet long. It is made
of stout canvas cloth with strips Of wood affixed
crosswlse to carry up the straw. The header rack
must keep close up under the spout of the header
When one rack is full it deposits its load in the
center of the field, while another track drives up
Immediately and takes its place the left of the
header. One mau stands ON the rack to load,
Jumping from rack to rack each fresh one comes
up. There Is one man to stack, and another to
trim up the the stacks The stacks are made TWEEN
ty-tiye or thirty feet long, and nine or ten feet
wide, and symmetrically curved and shaped
They are gensrally arranged in groups al four.
sach group containing two or three hundred BUSH
els Of wheat. They are often made on a knoll or
he poorest part of the field, and straw lies there
ill ii rots or is burnt, and so enriches the soil