156 



FARM MACHINERY 



It has been stated by good authorities that 40 per cent of the 

 feeding value of the corn lies in the leaves and stalks. To 

 let all this go to waste is. to say the least, poor economy, but to 

 handle the corn crop entirely by hand is so laborious that it was 

 not until modern labor-saving tools were developed that the 

 saving of the entire crop could be practiced. It is true that the 

 ear and the stalk have been used for stock food from the earliest 

 time, but the practice was always limited in the corn belt as 

 long as hand methods prevailed. 



The earliest tool used for cutting corn was the common hoe, 

 and certainly must have been a very awkward tool. Later the 

 sickle was made use of in topping the corn, a method by which 

 the stalk was cut off above the ear after fertilization had taken 

 place. Methods used in an early time for the building of shocks 

 or stocks of corn would seem very crude to-day. Often a center 

 pole was sunk into the ground and horizontal arms inserted in 

 holes in it. Against this the corn was piled until a shock of 

 sufficient size was formed, then the arms were withdrawn, finally 

 the center pole. The whole was compressed and tied with a 

 cornstalk band. Another method used to-day is to tie the tops 

 of four hills, forming a saddle against which the corn is piled. 



The corn knife was soon developed, and was first perhaps an 

 old scythe blade provided with a handle. The manufactured 

 corn knife can now be bought in a variety of shapes and with a 

 choice of handles. One style of knife may be fastened to the 

 boot, but does not seem to be very successful. 



FIG. Il6 A SLED CORN HARVESTER 



