7 46 the farmers' handbook. 



Harvesting. 



To secure maximum yields and. to facilite harvesting, crops such as 

 maize, sorghum, Arc, should be drill planted and level cultivated, all hilling 

 being avoided. The maize harvester is, of course, the last word in harvesting 

 for silage, but the slide and scythe-blade will be found useful. 



For small areas, broadcasted crops and steep and rocky situations, the 

 crop may be handled successfully with a sugar-cane knife or light hand hoe, 

 but whatever system is adopted it is essential that the stalks be kept parallel 

 in the bundles. For transport to the stack, ordinary slides will be found 

 most economical ; a rope sling should be placed across the floor of the slide 

 before loading, and in due course secured around the bundles, thus serving 

 to keep the load in place and providing a grip for the lifting gear at the 

 stack. In the cases of large slides or heavy material, it may be advisable to 

 split up the " lift " by utilizing two or more slings on each slide. 



The crop should be harvested when it has reached its maximum vegetative 

 growth — in the case of maize, when the husk and lower leaves on the stalk 

 have turned brown, and the grain has assumed its natural colour and shows 

 its indentation but is still milky. Sorghums and millets are at their best 

 when their seed is distinctly set. Absolute adherence to rules is, of course, 

 impossible under field conditions, and the time of harvesting must of necessity 

 be somewhat flexible, but these facts must be observed : harvesting in an 

 immature condition results in loss in bulk and in nutritive value, while if 

 delayed beyond the point recommended above, there is serious risk of extreme 

 development of heat, and the production of charred and altogether inferior 

 silage. 



Elevating the Bundles. 



The elevation of the bundles presents some little difficulty, but this can 

 be easily overcome by several methods ; a mast and spar can be used, or a 

 block and tackle operated from an overhanging limb of a convenient tree ; 

 but the system most to be recommended is the " whipstick," as illustrated. 

 (Fig. 1.) The length of the " whip " is, of course, determined by the height 

 of the stack, but usually a pole of about 30 feet in length will fulfil all 

 requirements. The " whip," like the block and tackle, can be worked from 

 an adjacent tree, or, as is more usual, a stout pole can be erected for the 

 purpose at the end of the stack-framework. Fig. 2 shows a pair of clutching- 

 dogs, which any local blacksmith could make, for gripping the bundles of 

 greenstuff. 



Building the Stack. 



In the accompanying illustrations the various stages of the building and 

 curing of a stack of sorghum silage at Hawkesbury Agricultural College are 

 depicted. 



In completing this particular stack, the aim was to shape the roof so as to 

 exclude rain, to keep the stack intact, and to resist wind. No thatching was 

 designed, and no special materials were utilised. The sheaves of sorghum 

 were laid transversely, and when the ridge was reached the whole was kept 

 firmly in position by passing across every 4 feet fencing-wire weighted on 

 each side to heavy fencing-posts hanging loose. In this way, as shrinkage 

 set in and the stack fell, the fencing-posts hugged the stack closely, and kept 

 the wires tight and in close position until the whole mass condensed 

 and became solid and stationary. 



