The Van Buren press., 1895-09-07
FARMER AND PLANTER
LEARNING NEW WAYS
Cutting Corn and sorghum by MaceineFy
and Saving Fodder.

LEARNING NEW WAYS.
Cutting Corn and sorghum by Machinery
and Saving Fodder.
The farmer Of the south il rapidly
learning to save his entire corn crop
by cutting the corn whom 1t has Juss
passed out of the roastingear. ana
shocking In the field, or putting it into
the silo for winter use. The reason
why this Is more generally practlceo
than formerly is because we can no
longer afford to pay labor to pull tne
fodder from the stalk. to use II as hay
and we know that If nothing but lne
grain of corn is saved, that forty per
cent. OF the feedingvalue Of the entire
crop is lost in the stalk and blade.
Another thing which has discouraged
the use of corn as fodder to q great ex-
tent, is the certain information that
different food is removed in the way
of fodder, which is lost to the ear o1
corn, and we have our labor for our
pains with the satisfaction OF knowing
that we have some roughness OH hand
for feeding. re a
Shocking corn Is not popular in the
eastern southern states, because OF the
frequent heavy southern rains that
cause the corn to rot In the shock be-
fore it cures thoroughly. This does
not always happen, but it occurs oc-
casionally. and discourages this
method of harvesting the corn crop
In the southwest there is not SO much
danger from rains, and shocking tue
corn in the field is more generally
practiced than elsewhere in the south.
The labor of cutting corn with the
old-fashioned knife is severe, and for
number of years the inventive genius
of our Yankee neighbors hassbeen
turned to the production of corn harv-
esting machinery. The cheapest and
simplest form of corn harvester. con-
sists of sled 21s feet wide and about
4 feet long, with projecting steel
wings, the front edge of which slope
to the rear at an angle Of As degrees.
These wings are some 15 inches in
width. A mule drawing this sled be-
tween two rows of corn brings the
sharp edges of the steel wings against
the corn butts of both rows just above
the ground and cuts them quickly As
the corn is cut two men riding upon
the sled catch the corn and throw it
into heaps behind the harvester. This
sled, with its wings, can be made in
any ordinary carpenter shop, or it can
be ordered from hardware houses OF
tot &c hi civ,ur
men, will easily cut ten acres per day.
There are other more expensive ma
chimes, complicated in pattern, and
working upon different principles,
some of which will do nicer work than
will this simple sled. Some Of them
have greater capacity per day, and
nearly any of those now being largely
advertised in agricultural papers are
reliable, and will work If given fair
conditions
Since the sorghum crop has become
of such Importance upon the farms Of
Texas, the question of how to cut it
when planted in drills is one OF increas-
ing interest. The simple machine de-
scribed above will cut drill sorghum
with ease and satisfaction. In this Sec
tion of the state we prefer to cut drill
sorghum, throwing it into gavels be-
hind the machine, let it take the sun
for a day, and then turn each gavel
over, and after another days sun haul
the sorghum and stack it in long ricks,
where it may be fed later in the season.
This method OF handling does not mi1
up the stalks, but allows them all to Icy
straight, makes the hay easy to handle,
and saves the fodder in the best posi-.
BILE condition. Sometimes the second
growth of sorghum is SO short wher
rain is lacking, that the stalks are
light and low, and the machine that
we use at this place will not do thu
best work. In this case we depend up
on an ordinary moving machine.
Ihave gotten some inquiries asking
whether or not this station can supply
corn harvesters to purchasers. taxi
this opportunity to say we are not II
the Implement business, and can no
afford to give our time to work of thi
character The reliable simplemen
dealers of this state can furnish an,
Of these tools that may be desired
They are certainly great labor saver
when a corn orsorghum crop is to b
cut off OF the land. college Station
Texas r..