The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-09-02
FARM AND
GARDEN ~
INTERESTS
How the Western Farmer Gathers His
Crop.

How the Western Farmer Gathers His
Harper's Weekly.
Now that we know the crop of 1902 is to
exceed any other in the history of this
country, it is interesting to see how the
Western farmer is gathering it, Two gen
eral classes of machines are used in mod
ern wheat harvest-the header and binder.
The self-blnder is familiar implement. 1t
cuts the grain, gathers the bundle. ties it
with Irvine, knots the cord, and throws the
bundle to the ground. The header, West
ern machine, lifts its knives high, seeking
only to cut the straw of the grain few
inches below the heads. 1t is pushed ahead
of four horses, the driver riding on tiller
behind the team and guiding the machine
does the pilot of ship-his rudder being
a single wheel at the end of a long tongue
Of wood extending backward. The swath is
twelve feet, instead of five or six as on the
binder. The platform on which falls the
grain has moving carrier, lifted and pro-
jecting at one side. Beneath this projec-
ton is driven a wagon with a large box to
receive the grain. When one wagon is load
ed it is hurried away to the stack while
another takes it's place. Thus the work goes
on from sunrise sunset, ana when TIC
field is covered it is shorn clean, ready
for the plows that are to begin the prepa-
ration for another crop. Ii is swift, eco
nomical, and especially adapted to the har-
veSting of grain too snort in the straw for
the effective use of q binder.
The coming of the modern thresEing out
fit to work upon the farm is impressive.
Ahead is the traction engine with Wide
wheels and powerful movement. Over the
engineers head is a gay canopy, and he
steers the whole with a glistening wheel.
NAxr sc he rn6 TOW. ora.f bnhf ind fhnF
a small house on wheels (the cook shanty
of the crew. A water tender is yet in the
rear, and that completes the line. Where,
as is the case in some sections, gasoline
takes the place of coal as fuel for the
engine, there is no need of a fuel wagon.
The modern separator does automatically
several things that were for many years
done by hand Once a band cutter stood
beside the feeder, clipping the band that
held each bundle together. Then the feeder.
taking the bunch of straw, slowly fed it
careful that he did not meet with injury
from overrecklessness or the sudden spew-
ing out Of piece of iron or a stone by the
whirring cylinder. Now the bundles are
pitched from the stack into the self-feed-
ing apparatus, which cuts the bands and
distributes the straw into the opening of
the machine.
Formerly, the straw was carried up an
open slideway by an endless line of Stats
and dumped in one place as long as the
machine was not moved TIE modern ma
chine has at the rear end d huge pipe or
funnel, extensible to twelve or twenty
feet, with curve at the end. 1t is the
wind stacker" At the base, where it joins
the machine, Is rapidly revolving fan
that creates a strong blast. On the cur
rent of air that is blown through the tube
| goes the straw, and the funnel is moved
from point to point, doing much of the
work of the stacker. 1t is a most well
come innovation TO the farm lad whose
duty 1t was to fight for breath at the gulp-
ing mouth of a straw carrier.
Another thing: the weigher. OF old, the
| farmer stood beside the machine and
watched the filling half-bushel measures,
| emptying them and tallying the number.
! Now the red stream of grain is caught by
| a small carrier, weighed. the record made.
the wheat lifted TO the height of wagon
| and poured into the wagon box. From the
| time when the bundle is pitched into the
| feeder the hand of man does not touch IT.
| Going to the elevator in town, the wagon
is dumped by fitting platform; machinery
| carries the grain to the bins, cleaning it
| on the way, and at last pOurS il into the
| car for shipment. Where the threshing is
| done in the harvest field, the process from
| standing grain to a swaying carload bound
| for the city may occupy but half dozen
hours
| on large scale. and where the owners of
| great farms are impatient of even the above
methods, harvesting is done with vaster
| appliances. Huge gang plows, pulled by
| many horses man can control,
| prepare the ground. The harvesting is
| done by mighty machine, propelled by a
4 steam engine, lndt cuts, tnreSheS and
| sacks the grain, leaving, when ii has passed
| over the field, only the empty straw and
| the plump bags of wheat. The latter are
gathered in wagons, fire sweeps over the
stubble, and all is in readiness for the start
| of another crop. In the dry, equable climate
| of the coast region, the sacks may be
| heaped out of doors for weeks and suffer
no injury.
The hay crop is an important one To
handle it and its brother, the alfalfa are
| new machines. The mower is lighter the
rake carries the hay in larger lunches the
| gatherer hauls the hay to the stack without
| the touch of q hand, the lifters by the
| power of a team of horses, place the whole
on the top of towering stacks-quite diff
| ferent from the weary pitchfork days of
old.
Sharing the throne with king wheat is
king corn. OF late years certain improve
| ments have been applied to machinery FOR
| taking care of this crop. rhe farmer
| formerly cut the cornstalks with a long
/ saberlike knife and carried them together
| in shocks ready for husking. The new
| method is TO drive up each row with a
| harvester that cuts the stalks bin1s them
| into bundles and throws them off to be
| picked Ut later.
| Then. when the farmer is ready for
| placing the grain in his barn, comes a vet
| more Interesting process. With a machine
| arranged tor the purpose he works a won
| Ger with the product. The bundles are
thrown into its mouth and rapidly thresheo
! The ears are husked and carried TO a
wagon. The stalks and husks are shredded
and crushed into a fine. palatable fodder
| that resembles hay, and this is carried by a
| wind stacker" tube into the loft of the
| this process, IL utilizes every portion o:
| the corn growth. Other conditions being
| favorable. an acre will produce from two
to four tons of this fodder hay.