New-York tribune., 1917-07-18
The Sinews Of War
Wheat Thrasher the Big Gun of Kansas, Has
Onened the Campaign for Victory and Humanity
Turns Out Three Thousand Bushels Day
Bv THEODORE M. KNAPPEN

alma KAN July l7-tgh on a hill of gentle slopes, with
rs long Pinch muzzle barrel pointing skywad with all the
grim challenge OF great the blower spouted straw
dust that mingled before the brisk northeast wind with the
~ the traction engine Below the blower which takes the
n the chain conveyor used in dsposng of the
haher was rattng nosy 1t took stretch of the mag
o 10 see this huge machine form OF artillery. 1t
be beginning OF thrashng in Kansas East and north
south thousand to-day separating the golden grain
- the hull and
WAS scene intense useful human activity greater
of reposeful agriculture Low hills and shallow valleys
M into great squares OF buegeen alfalfa and waving green
m squares OF golden standing gain squares Of ubbe where
% had BEEN squares regularly dotted with shocks OF garnered
I'm and others which the grouped stacks OF wheat and
M sentinel deserted spaces Over all the coudess sky
Ibn. and fiery
O4 10 the right the links of the Sana Country Club
,d farmers playing golf
This Kansas.
B 10 get back big gun OF the Kansas battle OF wheat
10 machine operated with all the precision OF artillery The
m supplied by belt drive from farm engine placed safe
Ine When the engine and the machinery begins to
. the game keep up with it without stops waste
notion.
Six wagons equipped with capacious box racks haul the
ves from the shocks the surrounding field Two wagons
ays on either side OF the machine From these pitch
bundles the top the thrasher where other work
10 toss them into the capacious Of the device that
bem up blows through the blower and pours down
bown Of hard wheat into doubebox wagon Rap
M The pile Of straw up and the wagon fills with the
e OF cereals An automatic wegher and register tells the
Aoy Of progress
machine will turn out thousand to two thousand bushels
,vsometmes three thousand The first wagon not
m sight on its wav 10 the railway sta
o before the second we'll filled 1t takes four five wagons
Aa the grain away One required to haul water for
engine and still another for the coal So here twelve teams
M upment required wait the hrasher All OF these
cot the fuel and the farmer supplies, and besides,
oun Of the rig takes toll of every bushe But
y with the price OF wheat s. bushel for No hard
and this particular field delivering the full sixty pounds to the
| t-At that is one Of the essentials of No l grade
Little being wasted in thrashng in Kansas this year
ru price drive and wheat defeat in the fields Of the
m Kansas stronghold of wheat has sent rashng rigs
asd to find work Every farmer who promptly get
hashng directly from the shocks after the Jew days
that must given the newly cut grain to dry Those not
runate stack their grain protect and thrash later
Another reason for haste this year the determination OF
arm-the government doing its duty to priceto seed
acreage wheat That that the stubbe must
turned under and the fields put right to work IN nature
3oces Of termination and growth
Still another is that every seeded early means
ned or ten bushels the acregood tor the farmer
account and good for embaed democracy Seven years OF
augmentation al the state experiment station at Manhattan has
this and the lesson being ceaselesy driven into the
rnd OF every farmer.
Congress and Hoover have only push the twodoawheat
luton Kansas-an the VESTS ready and will do the rest
II