The Bozeman courier., 1926-09-10
Combine is Winning Favor
Inn Montana Harvest Fields

IQS Lyp0 Oh harvesting ana Lur6Su-
ing has decided appeal. During the
past year several hundred of such
machines have been put into oper-
alton on the farms of the state. Many
owners are enthusiastic over their
performances, some claiming almost
unbelievable economy and efficiency
of operation.
At any rate the possibilities of the
small cOmbine-harVester are such
that national and state leaders in
crop production, agricultural engin-
eering and farm economics have
started an exhaustive study of the
matter. At the present time, Mr.. M.
L. Wilson agricultural economist of
the Montana Experiment Station, is
directing detailed Investigation to
discover the merits and weaknesses
OF the new system Of handling grain.
The party carrying on the study in
Montana includes L. A. Reynoldson
and r. E. Kiefer of the bureau of
agricultural economics, United States
Department of Agriculture; w. M.
Hurst and r. T. Humphrey, bureau
of agricultural engineering Of the fed
eral department; r. M. Merrill Of the
department Of agricultural engineer
ing, Montana State College, and Ed
ward Bell, Ernest Sandberg and E,
A. Starch of the department of ag-
ricultural economics, Montana Ex-
pertinent Station.
A careful check si being made on
the operation of more than 100 com
bines-harvesters in the state. The
owners are cooperating by keeping
detailed records of the seasons work
including acres covered, the amount
Of grain threshed and the various
items of expense. AS soon as the
season is over the records will be
assembled and compared.
At the same time the agronomy
/ department of the Montana Expert
ment Station, cooperating with the
office of cereal investigations of the
United States Department of Agri.
culture, will collect all possible data
to determine the efficiency of this
type of harvester as compared with
the ordinary binder, header and sta.
tionary thresher. This phase of the
investigation will include the study
of the amount of grain lost through
shattering, the results obtained with
grain of different lengths of straw
and different stands, the loss il
threshing and the effect on thresh.
ing efficiency of wet or immature
grain.
According to Mr.. Wilson the un
even ripening of field of grain anC
the occasional damp weather which
comes at harvesting time offer the
greatest obstacles to the operation
Iof the small harvester-combine. Tt
overcome this the investigators ar,
working on the problem of perfectin,
a drier which will put grain of higl
moisture content in proper condition
for storage.
The representatives of the Unite,
States Department of Agricultur
who are aiding with the study hav
also conducted Investigations in othe
grain growing states of the western
plains region. In these, studies tw,
} driers were devised and tried ou
with fair success. With the back
ground of this operation a new drie
has been constructed at Havre. TIL
machine was in operation during re
cent rainy weather and will be use
until the close of the present ha1
vest season so that it will receive
very thorough trial.
Most of the small combines bein
studied are located in the Judit
Basin since a large number of thes
machines are in operation in thi
part of the state. However, studie
] also will be made in north centrs
Montana between Havre and RuC
| yard, at Outlook, Medicine Lake
/ Richie and points along the yellow
4 stone between Forsyth and Billing
Il In some of the other grain grow
7 ing states in the Great Plains regio,
II the small harvester-combine is NEE
y ing with much success, says Mr.. Wi
Z son. In certain communities in we
| tern Kansas, Oklahoma and Tex
as much as so per cent of the gra
II is being harvested with this tyI
of machine, where a few years al
the binder and the header were us'
almost exclusively.
HI The Montana study will be col
pleted at the close of the prese