The Prescott daily news., 1914-08-24
CUTTING AND SHOCKING CORN

iiNu A->D SHOCklNG CORN (By w. C. Lassetter, Argronomist,
 Ark. Experiment Station.)
 Corn should be cut about two weeks after fodder pulling itne or just when the shucks on the majority of the ears are brown. By this time the ears are we'll filled and only need to be cured out
 Two Methods of Cutting.
 One man with a common bush or hand grass blade easily cuts the stalks off a few inches above the ground, while man with him catches the stalks before they fall. If three men are working together the stalks may be carried to the shock before Iputting them down. Two men to catch the stalks and carry them to the shocks can keep the man with the blade busy. The corn can be handled very rapidly by laying the stalks on the ground in convenient bundles until sufficient corn for a shock is ready. This latter method is preferable where only two men are working to- gether.
 Many prefer to provide each man with big knife, larger, heavier and coarser than the butcher knife, with which the stalks can be chopped down at one blow. Each man works inde- pendently of the other. The stalks can easily be arranged in small piles where they can be gathered up when shocking is begun.
 After cutting the stalks must not be left too long before shocking. The leaves should not have time to do more than wilt. It is not necessary that they even wilt before being shocked
 How to Shock. Where rows are of the ordinary width four stalks, (two about two or three feet apart on each row, an op- posite those on the other row. may be left standing where the shock is wanted. Bend them toward each other and tie the tops together. These will furnish support for the corn that is to be. shocked.
 A shocking horse can be made by providing a four by four inch pole, ten feet long, with two detachable legs about five feet long. These should be set in holes bored in one end of the pole, so they can be spraddled out, this supporting one end of the pole while the other rests upon the ground. About twenty inches from the upper end of the pole, one inch hole should be bored in which four foot rounded stick can be inserted and left | in horizontal position. This stick supports the stalks until the shock is well rounded so it will support itself. When the shock is finished and tied up, the middle stick is pulled out, the legs taken out, and the horse moved over to the next location.
 Build the shocks uniformaly from all sides, leaning all stalks slightly to- ward the center. Before finishing, see that no side is erak About two hundred stalks should be put into each shock Where the corn is small more stalks may be used.
 Tie a small ring into one end of a common rope or blow line. With the other end of the rope through this ring, lasso the shock, placing the rope just above the ears of corn. Draw this as tight as one man can pull it, being careful however, not to twist the shock out of shape. While the rope is tightly drawn, tie the shock with binder twine and then remove the rope.
 Corn handled in this way should be left shocked in the field for about four weeks to allow it to cure out we'll. After about two weeks, the bands on the shocks should be tigh- tened up again to keep out the rain and to keep the shock from blowing over in case of bad weather.