Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1917-07-17
Eau Claire, Wis, July II, 1917.
Eau Claire Daily Telegram,
Mr.. Otto Lund, Editor,

Eau Claire, Wis, July II, 1917.
Eau Claire Daily Telegram,
Mr.. Otto Lund, Editor,
Eau Claire, Wis.
Gentlemen Mr.. E. B. Thayer, edi
tor of the Wausau Pilot, has handed
me your letter of the 18th to him foI
answer as it happens that the demon.
stration referred to took place on oul
stock farm at Fenwood, Wis.
While | cannot say that it was en-.
tirely successful so far as the actua
curing of our hay was concerned, il
is pleasure for me to state that the
process itself was very interesting
and | believe it proved successful
when conditions are more favorable
| believe it is true that on the heavier
soils this season the hay crop, gen.
orally, in the northern part of Wis
weeks at least, than usual. Ours GER
tainly was not ready to cut. OF it.
self, that was hard condition to con
tend with. Another condition is tha
of the much lower temperature both
day and night than is usual at this
time of the year and the heat neces-
sary for the ground and directly upon
the hay was lacking.
The system has been in use for
some six years and is called the John
Deere Dain System Rake. Enclosed
you will find one of their booklets
which gives their claims and also the
performance much better than
could think of doing, but I am very
o1an tn fnCtifu tn &c v.ir tn he
natural process for the purpose, not
only of quick drying, but to preserve
in the hayeall of the nutriment posi-
BILE and with comparatively little
bleaching. There are other imple-
ments manufactured similar to this
but that would have to be highly per-
fected to do any better work as il
certainly does it clean, piles it higf
and loose with the stems up and the
leaves down just exactly as described
and is easily adjusted by the operator
There is no other intermediate ma
chine 3cessary between the mower
and the loader.
The last paragraph of your letter
is certainly to the point and it is my
observation that the best farm i'm
plements possible to obtain nova
days are none too good for the assist
ance of our farmers in their import
ant work of conserving the crops. II
is, of course, very necessary that the
work be done intelligently and under
as favorable conditions as possible
though we can not hope to control the
weather but | believe that this inn
plement is in the line of progress in
helping to save time and materials.
One essential that occurs to sme in
connection with the last statement is
that any moisture that is left in the
hay is nearer the top of the stem and
in the leaves and usually reduced to
20 per cent. That being the case, the
leaves are not as dry and brittle and
liable to drop off.
My own inspection of the implement
points toward its being put up in the
usual thorough method of its manu-
facturer, every point being the result
of careful study on the part of its
originator, who by the way, conducted
the demonstration at Fenwood.
You may know that it excited quite
a good deal of interest in the vicinity
and even further away as there were
two auto loads OF men that came from
go miles distant, starting at o'clock
a. m, for the purpose of learning
something, and they were not disap-
pointed
Hoping that this, together with the
printed matter, will be of interest anG
service not only to yourself but tc
your county agricultural representa-.
tive and the local agent of the John
Deere people, l am
Yours very truly,
FENW0OD LBR. co.