The Clio messenger. (Clio, Mich.) 1907-current, 1917-01-12

in the field until February or March
exposed to the winds ard rains Of win
ter, it is questionable whether its
feeding value is equal to the cost of
cutting and shocking.
Storing Ears Uahusked.
Jerking the ears and storing them
unhusked is u method Of harvesting
employed in some sections especially
in the South, where the argument usu-
ally given in its favor is that if the
husks are on the ears they are more
protected from the grain weevil. The
destruction of corn by this insect is
one of the drawbacks to more extern
sive corn culture in the South. AS soon
ms the corn becomes dry enough TO
crib, weevils are frequently found
working under the husks ON the kerr
nels of the ears, sometimes to the
number of 20 or more to the ear. 1t
is a question whether the corn is more
seriously injured by transferring the
weevil with the unhusked ears to the
| crib than would result were the corn
husked in the field, causing the weevils
to drop to the ground and thereby
| leaving most of them in the field.
The total amount of work required
| to jerk the corn and afterwards husk
| 1t is considerably greater than that re-
| quired to husk 1t directly from the
standing stalk, and the quantity of
| forage obtained by gathering the husks
| is not sufficient to pay for the extra
/
obtained more cheaply by other meth
DDS. If the husks are sold advantage
ously for mattress making it Is we'll
| to perform the two operations of jerk
| ing the ears and afterwards husking
them in a manner that will furnish
husks of good quality. The proper.
ton of husk varies greatly among the
different kinds of corn, but 1t is sufli-
cient to say that it requires fully one
half more room to. store the ears I'M
husked than husked.
| Binders.
The corn binder with bundle carrier
Is satisfactorily used in cutting corn
OF average or small size on land that
is not very steep or stumpy. On the
/
north central states the corn binder is
very generally used in cutting and
| shocking corn. In light corn or on
level land two horses will suffice, but
| for faster work or heavy corn the use
of three or four horses is much more
satisfactory. Three men, one to run
the binder and two to shock, and two
| ont CHI al
acres of corn day. However, condi-
tons vary to such an extent regarding
the weight of the corn crop, the lay of
the land, etc., that it is impossible TO
| give figures that will apply to oil
| cases. In sections where the corn
binder is successfully used the princi-
pal objections to its use are the cost
of Irvine which remains upon the fod-
der but a short time, and the knocking
off of ears in the process of binding.
In almost all cases the quantity Of
corn knocked off by the binder is grVat
enough to warrant driving a wagon
over the field and gathering the ears
from the ground after the corn is cut
and shocked. This is necessary, be-
|
the field prevents the turning in of
hogs or cattle to gather up the ears
knocked off by the binder.
Huskers and Shredders.
The use Of shredding machines is
quite general in many corn-growing
sections. Sometimes the machines are
used for shredding the slower after
| H.. al
shocks by hand, and in other cases
both the husking and shredding are
done by the machine. The shredding
of the slower puts 1t In a more COM
pact form for storing and more con-
venient form for feeding and avoids
the troublesome work of handling ma
nure-in which there are long coarse
cornstalks. Shredded slower Is fed
with much less waste than slower in
any other condition. 1t has been esti-
mated that shredded slower will 10 40
per cent further In feeding cattle than
the whole stalks and considerably fur
Their than when the stalks are put
through a feed cutter. AS there are
shredders of varying capacities,
farmer may purchase machine suited
to the quantity of work to be per
formed, or a number of farmers In
community may own machine jointly.
Shredding fodder by the acre AMI
shredding and husNng by the busheI
are common In mit.Iy sections where
crews operate hus3rers and shredder
and travel from farm to farm.