The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1903-01-29
TWO HARVESTERS WORK
WHAT The CORN HARVESTER AND
The SHREDDER HAV: DONE.


Eight Acres Are Cut In IL Single Day.
Inc immense waste of provcndcr in
tho shape of corn stalks which has
gene on for many years in the corn
states OF thlS country, has been Il
source OF wonder and comment. Sta
tlStcianS alG fond Of computing The
total loss from this source. and We
arc startled by the large sums which
wC allow to slip through our fingers
each year. TO grow crop OF corn,
and then allow more than onc.tbird
or ii to go TO waste is bad enough.
but that is not all. The dead corn.
stalks left in the field are Il constant
source OF danger. Cattle turned into
such field are liabrc to sickcn and
die within Il few hours. They are said
TO die with "cOrnS;alk disease" but
tho natur" of this; disease is unknown
ana the cur" las not yet bcCn found.
The cr%0t which n'cStS corn Smu,
sometimes cHu%"S rrgutiSm Tho
parasitic causes che arteries to con.
tract. shutting cn tt" supply OF blood
from tic cNtr"nrti"s. As il result,
Tia" hOnlS and sometimes tho lower
"nA OF IT," tail drops OF. Tho only
sur" method known Of prrvcntinw
these diseases is 10 have no stalk
i!"i'tS in which to pasture cattle. ANY
man who pastures cattle on cornstalEs
IS iih"lE to b" Il heavy loser.
tornstalkS left in the field occasion
great loss ly interfering with cultiva.
tion. This is an Indirect loss, and
our which is only beginning to be un.
d"l%'0od. Chinch bugs, army worms
and the like find Il harboring place in
tn" cornstalks. and thus live from one
year 10 another. Here, then, are
three ways iii which the c0rnS;alk
left in the field is n nuisance Burn.
ing has been rcsOrtcd to. but the soil
Is robbed Of a large amount of humus
which II would gain if the stalks were
allowed Ia rot in the field. Nothing
Is left bu, The ash, which is of small
value.
EaStrrnr,S cannot understand why
western farmers do not make fodder
out ol their cOrnstalkS and thus save
the entire crop, instead Of allowing
l"ohiihS to 80 to waste. That's be-
dltIonS which prevail out hero.
Converting the entire corn crop into
fodder has boon an impOSSihiity, sim.
ply because there weren't men
enough to do the work. The corn
cutting season lasts only about Ia
days, and there are not half enough
mon on the farms in Iowa to cut T.
"oo,o acres OF corn i'm season. II is
TACT that W" haven't cut up all the
corn We could. Why haven't We?
fIrSl. because corn.cutting is hard.
"'"agrccabl" work. llusking corn fod
| dor is another tedious, back -hrcaking
| ]oh: hauling fodder is an unpleasant
task. There has been no satisfactory
method OF feeding fodder. Scattered
On the ground. the stock tramp is un.
dcrloot, and when put in managers they
jerk it out, step on it, smell it, and
then Jerk out another stalk.
But this IS not all. Fodder left
standing in the shock until fed loses
a large part Of its feeding value,
through exposure to the weather. 70
stack it has been found impracticablc,
and to build barns is too expensive.
work OF cutting and handling fodder,
arh its small feeding value, it Is not
strange that western farmers have
chosen TO harvest very little OF their
corn crop in this way. In the eastern
states conditions are very different.
thc advent OF the modern corn har.
NcStrr has changed the situation ma
! lcrially. More than twice as much
corn can be cut and shocked than in
The old way. A machine will cut eight
| acres in a day, and three men will
Shock ana tie ii in the same time.
The cost is about wha, it j., IL do
the work in the old way, but The fod.
der is left in convenient bundles for
handling. The chief advantage is the
speed with which the corn can be put
III shock. enabling a large portion of
the crop to be saved. If the bundles
are Go,lnd by hand there is great
difference In time between the two
methods. More than this, very large
acreage can be cut with n machine
when the crop is at just the proper
stage of ripcness, and shocked after
ward. thus extending the corn harvest
ing period several days.
1t remained for the shredder 20 nut
the fodder in good shape to store and
iced. The fodder cutter was not a
| success. but the fodder shredder is
undoubtedly, for it virtually turns fod-
| der into hay. Not only this. but It
huSkS and shells the corn.
Prof. Henry, an authority on feeds
and feeding, estimates that 80 percent
Of fodder is lost when fed unshrcldcd.
The loss in feeding shredded fodder is
immatnrial, probably no more than in
feeling hay. Thus We see that one.
third the fodder is saved by shred
ding. That which is rejected makes
an excellent absorbent for manure.
This kind of manure is easily handled,
| while whole cOrn%talkS in manure are
an abomination.
Corn hay makes nearly as good hay
as any other kind of hay. 1t was
quoted at $3.50 a ton Wholesale, last
year, at small towns in the east.
Iowa farmers were paid 81 to SIS a
ton shredded fodder, balcd. Tim
othy and clover hay brought higher