The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1895-08-22
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THE ENslLAcE CROP.


How TO Handle the Crop Distributing
Device-The Best Covering.
For success it is necessary to have
quite good crop, preferably corn cut
at the right time, and tight silo. When
practicable have the ensilage grown as
near the silo as possible, so as to reduce
the hauling to a minimum. We will
suppose that the crop is grown on land
within so rods of the silo, and that the
corn has reached the stage when the
husks begin to turn yellow and the grain
is dented, while must Of the leaves are
yet green and juicy. When this stage is
reached, the crop should be cut. The
cutting may be done by hand, but it is
slow, laborious and costly. There are
multitude Of corn cutters on the market,
all of which are more or less service
able. OF a number that have been tried
at the Kansas station nothing better has
been found than sled cutter with two
knives hinged, one to each side of the
sled, so as to cut two rows at time
This machine is pulled by one horse.
Two stout boys or young men stand
upon the sled, each facing row Of corn,
which, as the horse moves forward, is
cut off and gathered into the arms Of
the operators, who drop 1t in punches
behind them. The reins can hang with
in easy reach upon an upright forlzed
stick in front of the sled, but the horse
will soon learn to start and stop with
out guidance from the reins. In fair
crop two hands on this cutter can easily
keep ahead of three wagons hauling it
to the silo and help load at intervals
The next step is the loading. For this
purpose the wagons should be provided
with low, broad racks, ON which the
corn is piled crossways Two men can
hand the punches left by the cutter up
to the driver on the rack about as fast
as he can pile them. The number Of
teams engaged in hauling should be ad-
justed TO the distance and the capacity
Of the ensilage cutter. For the distance
named and with a small machine it
takes two teams and three wagons to
keep things running smoothly One
wagon is left at the cutter to be unload
ed, the team being at once hitched to
the wagon just emptied and goes afield
again, while the third wagon will have
finished loading by the time the team
returns to the field.
At the cutter it takes one man TO un-
load and one man to feed. The man
who unloads drops it handy for the
feeder upon the table set against the
cutter. Reference is here made to a
small machine such as average farmers
require. Such cutter, with average |
steady running, can cut about two tons |
of green corn an hour. 1t is provided |
with an elevator attachment, which lifts
the cut material over the silo walls. 1t |
may be run by steam, electricity or
horsepower. The whole force necessary,
then, Is two men to cut, two to load, |
two to drive, one to unload and one to |
feed. If green and juicy, the weight
OF the ensilage is so very great |
that it will firm itself about as we'll
without tramping, but some device is
necessary to distribute it we'll in the
silo. A sack filed with chaff, straw or
a similar light bulky material should
be hung so that the stream Of silage
from the elevator is discharged upon it.
This will scatter it to the sides Of the
silo instead of dumping it in heap in
the middle It is not necessary to salt
the silage.
Lastly, it is poor economy to use a
silo that is not tight. Wherever the air
gains access to the walls the silage will
spoil When the silo is full, layer of
green grass is the best covering, and to
this layer it is we'll to put
few loads of earth on top. This is the
plan that has been adopted with success
at the Kansas station and reported to
The Prairie Farmer. AS it is of general
interest it is here reproduced for the
benefit of readers in many sections of
the country.