The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1906-02-15
more constantly in mind than the ne
cessity of increasing the fertility, or
producing capacity of his land"
Farm Threshing Outfits.

aJConI1On TO the Small JHTSSuluS Oue-
fit that two or three farmers can pur-
chase and handle as community prop
erty, doing their own work at such
time as they think advisable, without
having to depend on the large thresh-
ing machines to come around. The
subject is of sufficient Importance to
have the attention of our readers
called to the following letter written
by H. A. Bush, of Fond du Lac county,
Wisconsin,, to the Breeders Gazette
upon the subject of small threshers.
Mr.. Bush said:
1.-TWO years ago the state agent OF
a Wisconsin company that makes a
speciality of farm threshing machines
visited me in the interests of his
firm. He came at the right time to
make a sale. My grain stacks were
putting on a garnishment OF green
The threshers never came. Their
heavy outfits burrowed in the mire of
barnyards and swales, slid off the slip
perry highways into soft bitches, and
went through bridges weakened by
floods. They were buster with trouble
than bundles. I was readily convinced
of the advantage of having thresher
all my own. l showed the agent my
six-horse gasoline engine and asked
him if that would do for the power.
He said it would. l agreed to buy a
Belle City machine with 24-inch CYL
inder on the condition that it would
do business. 1t came in a few days
and fulfilled the warranty. The way
it disposed of damp, clinging straw
surprised even those who were just
going by and came in to be facetious.
| threshed my grain that fall with the
ordinary farm help and one or two
extra men. The ground was soft, but
a good pair of horses put the machine
Just where it was wanted, likewise the
portable gasoline engine. We could
set them both and get to work while
the heavy rigs would have been pre-
pairing to move. When we finished
threshing that year l told the boys
that the future held no place on a
grain stack on Old Oak farm.
"The next year and this fall we
threshed from the shock. There is
much economy in this and the method
is one for which the little separator
is especially adapted Five men and
two teams are required to make much
of a show for a days work in stack
ing grain. One more man and a third
team are fair threshing crew for my
outfit, although it is handler to have
one team for the grain wagons. l
use two double-box wagons. The grain
is delivered to the wagon by swing
ing spout on either side of the ma
chine and requires very little atten-
ton until the box is nearly filled. All
the men VINO have hauled my grain
say it is easier to shovel it into the
bins than to handle filled bags. The
one who hauls to granary can attend
to oiling the separator. The gasoline
engine takes care of itself. There are
then left three men to use three bas-
ket RAGS in hauling from the field,
man to feed and a man for the
straw stack. 1t is handy to have IL
or Is year old boy to cut bands, but
the feeder can get along pretty COM
fortably without him.
$50 it is by this manner OF thresh-
ing, and with about the same crew
that would be required for stacking
the grain is put under roof-secure
from the elements; the double action
of stacking and threshing eliminated
and no further worry about persist
ent canopy of cloudS-and mist and
rain.
81 am sometimes asked how many
bushels | can thresh in day. | have
not kept a particular record in this
respect. | have been content to jog
along satisfied with threshing faster
than | could stack. In threshing beard
less barley last fall, short of straw
and perfectly dry, it came from the
grain-spout a bagful a minute, which
would be at the rate of at least
thousand bushels in an ordinary days
run. My six-horse engine does nor
drive the separator to it's full capacity
Careful feeding is required, the power
Io;,,-. ,,roccod tO itc MAXIMUM