Kutal Sa^eiu ioplc5 



By C. M. SEAGRAVES 



^/EAT, hurry, and haying are 



^^l f^ hazardous. Considered sep- 

 _'f i_ arately, they are each dan- 

 gerous items .... take them all at 

 once and it's a fright. Yet when the 

 hay-making season is with us, were 

 sure to have the other two. This ex- 

 plains in part why last year in Illinois, 

 240 farmers were more or less serious- 

 ly injured and 7 were killed .... all 

 of which makes expensive forage. 



A study of the reports indicates that 

 a considerable portion of these mis- 

 haps would have been avoided had 

 the following safeguards been taken : 



1. Mowers. Should be operated by 

 experienced hands, using a gentle, well- 

 seasoned team. Adjustments should be 



task here is to keep the team from 

 running away. 



4. Stackers. So many types of these 

 are in use, its well-nigh impossible to 

 fully enumerate the separate hazards. 



5. Balers. Most injuries occur be- 

 cause operators place their hands where 

 the plunger or feeder head can mash 

 them. Open gears and moving ma- 

 chinery are always hazards and should 

 be worked on only when not in mo- 

 tion. 



6. Racks. Most deaths last year re- 

 sulted from falls from hay racks. These 

 mishaps can be largely avoided if work- 

 ers will be seated on the load . . if the 

 load is of reasonable size and well 

 placed . . if the rack is not driven over 



HEAT, HURRY AND HAYING — A TRIO OF DUEHS 

 Last year 240 Illinois iarmers were seriously injured and seven were killed in haying 

 operations. These accidents have much to do with making farming one of our most 

 hazardous occupations. 



boulders and across ditches. 



7. Pitchforks. Always handle these 

 dangerous tools with the greatest care. 

 This means they are never to be tossed 

 around, leaned against the sides of the 

 stack or rack, or placed on the ground 

 with the tines up. 



8. Hay forks and ropes. Ropes 

 should be in excellent shape, securely 

 anchored. This means they were not 

 out in the weather all winter. Hay- 

 forks must be released and started only 

 when the men on the load and in the 

 mow have given the word. Many a 

 farmer has been harpooned and many 

 a finger smashed because this funda- 

 mental precaution has been ignored. 



made only when the cutter bar is up 

 and the machine is out of gear. Team 

 should never be left unattended unless 

 tied. Children should be kept entire- 

 ly away from the hay field. 



2. Rakes. The most frequent acci- 

 dents from the use of these implements 

 occurs when operators fall off the seat 

 in front of the rake or when a team 

 starts up while being hitched up. If 

 a team becomes frightened and the op- 

 erator is thrown in front of the rake 

 his chance of escape is very slim. 



3. Hay loaders. Although people 

 are not usually seriously injured they 

 are occasionally vexed when the loader 

 shoots out a bumble bee nest. The 



JUNE, 1938 



HEAT AND HURRY. The very 

 old and the very young must be 

 watched constantly to prevent them 

 from over-doing. The former wants 

 to show his youth and the latter de- 

 sires to establish his maturity . . . both 

 desires lead to over-exertion, and oc- 

 casionally to heat prostration. Every 

 person knows when he is becoming 

 too tired or too warm .... it's the 

 height of bad judgment to continue 

 work. 



With dust protectors as reasonably 

 priced as they are farmers could well 

 afford to wear them when in the hay 

 mow, especially if the hay is dusty. 

 Dust fever is both injurious and un- 

 necessary. 



The freedom with which we sweat 

 during haying leads to another need. 

 Perspiration carries salt from the body 

 tissues. When our salt content is de- 

 pleted, fatigue results. We recognize 

 the need for salting our livestock, but 

 we overlook the demands of our own 

 bodies. The water we drink doesn't 

 fill the need. Add a dilute concentra- 

 tion of salt to the drinking water and 

 the balance is reasonably well main- 

 tained. Most industries and the Na- 

 tional Guard have been using this 

 remedy for years where hot work con- 

 ditions are encountered. 



Let's make hay safely this year. . 



Bert Woodruff Says 



As an Adams county livestock grower, 

 "I supfHDrt cooperative livestock market- 

 ing because it is the farmers' own organ- 

 ization and I have confidence in it; I 

 believe that through cooperative market- 

 ing I receive a greater share of the con- 

 sumer's dollar; because my cooperative 

 leads the way in better service: because 

 organized selling means greater influence 

 for higher and stabilized price levels. 



Makes Work a Pleasure 



"George A. Reed, Douglas county, 

 Nebraska, of>erates a 6-cylinder general 

 purpose tractor that comes equipped with 

 lights, starter and battery," says Capper's 

 Farmer. "It was easy to install a radio 

 and hook it to the tractor battery. The 

 tractor runs quietly, interferes little with 

 reception, and earphones are not neces- 

 sary. . . 'Time passes rapidly, especially 

 at night, when you can sit and listen to 

 a good radio program as you work,' Reed 

 said. 'You can listen to news broadcasts 

 and market reports in the daytime. . .' " 



Harry Allen, Fruit Exchange Supply 

 Company, reports volume sales of ni- 

 trogen fertilizers up 100 per cent more 

 than a year ago. Reason : growers 

 know it pays to keep trees in proper 

 condition. 



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