11 



stalks were cut and weighed. On the same day the ears of the other 

 lots were husked and weighed, and all the fodder was cut, weighed, 

 and shretlded. The following table gives the rgsult of the experiment: 



Results of harvesting eorn by diffennl inethoik. 



How harvested. 



1. Blades pulled ; stalks harvested 



2. Blades pulled: stalks not harvested . . 



3. Stalks cut and shocked -. . . 



4. Ears husked and stalks cut when dry 



SheUed 

 com. 



Bushels. 



47.24 



47.24 



148.74 



45.43 



Blade 

 fodder. 



Pounds. 

 585 

 585 



Pounds. 

 2,012 



3,037 

 2,195 



Total 

 value of 

 product 

 per acre. 



$35.18 

 27.13 

 39.55 

 31.49 



The total values axe based on the following prices : Shelled corn, 50 

 cents per bushel; naked, weather-beaten stalks and husks shredded, 

 40 cents per hundredweight; the stover, including stalks, l)lades, and 

 shucks from the shocks, 50 cents per hundredweight; cured corn 

 blades, 00 cents per hundredweight. 



The plats on which the stalks were cut and shocked yielded 1.5 

 bushels more than plats on which blades were pulled, and 3.31 " 

 bushels per acre more than the plats on which the stalks were left 

 untouched. 



In discussing the experiment, Professor Redding says : 



The economic result.s arc .'^o strikingly in favor of the cutting and shocking method of 

 harvesting the corn crop that there can he no further doul)t of its great economy. 



The results of the foregoing experiment confirm the experience gained in the last 

 five years in regard to methods of harvesting corn, and strengthen the conchusion 

 already reached, that it is much more economical to cut the stalks down and shock them 

 than to pull the fodder in August or to husk the ears in September or October. 



MACHINES FOR HARVESTING CORN. 



SLED HARVESTERS AND SIMILAR DEVICES. 



As early as the year 1820 attempts were made to construct a 

 mechanical corn harvester. From that year until 1892 all attempts 

 to perfect such a machine were unsuccessful. The machines invented 



a The larger yield of shelled corn from the plat that was cut and shocked should not 

 be counted in favor of that method of harvesting. It is explained as follows in the 

 Georgia bulletin just cited: "The increased weight of grain for the plats on which the 

 stalks were cut and shocked can be credited to the fact that the ears left on both the 

 other series of plats were drier, because fully exposed to the sun and wind. The cause 

 of difference was overlooked at the time and until too late to remedy. * * * No 

 gain in the weight of grain from the cut arid shocked plats was expected, and the results 

 would have been entirely satisfactory had there been a small loss as the result of cutting 

 down the stalks." — Editor. 



