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pared with the cost of $1.18 per acre for harvesting with a sled 

 harvester, and $1.50 per acre for corn binders or hy hand, gives quite 

 an advantage in favor of the corn shocker. 



The manual labor in harvesting corn is the least when using the 

 shocker. 



The shock made by the corn shocker is not so easily loaded on a 

 wagon as is that made by a corn binder, as the individual bundles 

 may be loaded with a pitchfork, whereas the whole shock made with 

 a shocker can best be loaded at once, and this requires some form of 

 loading device or horsepower derrick. 



The corn binder is well adapted for cutting corn for the silo, as the 

 bundles are bound into convenient size to be loaded on a wagon, thus 

 saving considerable of the work necessitated by handling loose stalks 

 in the field and at the cutter. However, this saving of labor is 

 accomplished at the cost of twine, which remains around the bundles 

 for less than an hour and is a total waste when cut. A corn shocker 

 arranged to load the shocks on a wagon would no doubt prove the 

 cheapest method of harvesting corn for the silo. 



The general verdict of farmers who have used both the corn binder 

 and the shocker is that the shocker is the preferable machine for 

 harvesting corn. ^ - 



A CORN-SHOCK LOADER. 



A loading device for handling corn shocks adds greatly to the value 

 of the shocker, for with it the corn can be more cheaply handled than 

 by the present methods. One of the first devices of this kind con- 

 sisted of a long pole or pipe supported on a fulcrum at the rear end 

 of the wagon in such a way as to give considerable leverage. The 

 idea was much like that of the old well sweep with the semirotary 

 motion added. 



An improved loading device which can be carried along "with the 

 wagon or left in the field and driven about independently, has been 

 invented (PI. II). It is mounted on four wheels and consists of an 

 adjustable vertical mast on which is a horizontal steel cross-arm. 

 On this is mounted a traveling block fitted with pulleys, thru 

 which a rope passes. To the end of this rope is attached a horse, 

 which lifts the load. For loading corn shocks, a grapple fork is 

 used, which is slipt under the shock. The grapple arms are closed 

 and with the pull of the horse the shock is lifted up on the wagon and 

 laid ©n its side or stood on end, the grapple arms being released by 

 simply turning the handle of the fork. This machine was originally 

 designed to load corn shocks, and it easily handles two shocks per 

 minute, and will bear a stress of 2,000 pounds. It can also be 

 applied to many other uses on the farm, as well as commercial uses, 



