15 



The sled liarvesters and com harvesters of the same type vary in 

 price from $5 for tlie simj^ler forms, wliich are made at liome ]>y tlie 

 farmer, to $55 for ihc more ehd)orate machim^s as shown in (ii^ures S 

 and 9. These harvesters have one <;reat advantasj:e over the more 

 compUcated machines in that the first cost is U)w. For this reason 

 every farmer, even with only a few acres of corn tti cut, can afford to 

 have one. It requires but one horse for motive power, and very 

 little if any twine is used to tie the shocks. However, if the corn is 

 tangled or lodged the cruder forms of these harvesters can not be used, 

 as the corn must stand straight and the horse walk rather fast in 

 order that the harvester may do perfect work. It is also rather hard 

 work for the men to gather and shock the corn. The work of har- 



FiG. 9. — Rear view of two-row com harvester. 



vesting corn is such that only the best construction can withstand 

 the strain for any great while, and hence these macliines are being 

 used less than formerly, even in those sections of the country where 

 they were once extensively introduced. 



In regard to the cost of harvesting corn with these machines the 

 following questions were sent out to numerous farmers in various 

 sections of the country where corn is raised: 



1. With a sled harvester, how many acres of corn can ])e cut per day? 



2. How much does it cost per acre to harvest corn with a sled harvester? (a) Cost 

 of machine . (6) Driver and team . (c) Twine . (d) Extra shocker . 



From the 90 replies received in answer to these ([uestions, it was 

 learned that the minimum in acreage of corn cut per day is 2 acres, 

 and the maximum 10 acres. The average from all the replies 



