24 N. H. Agricultural Experiment Station [Sta. Bull. 273 



There seems to be plenty of machinery for handling the corn crop 

 provided some planning is done to make the best use of it. (Table 19) 



Table 19. Silage machinery available on the 281 farms. 



Owned Used 



Harvesters 

 Cutters 

 Tractors 

 Stationary engines 



On the 281 farms studied there were 158 harvesters used. Some of 

 these were exchanged for labor in filling. Altogether, 26 were hired 

 or exchanged. Many more could have been so used. The use of a har- 

 vester reduces the time cutting from approximately 8.5 hours per acre 

 to 3.5 hours, and this time could be still further reduced by driving 

 over the corn row without previously hand cutting into lands for har- 

 vester operation. The amount of corn lost is so small, particularly 

 with the opportunity for later pasturing to get down stalks, that the 

 practice of first cutting roads by hand is not to be recommended. 



Those farms owning a harvester averaged 10.1 acres of silage corn 

 per farm. When those farms that hired or exchanged work for a har- 

 vester were included, the area per farm was 9.1 acres. Those hand cut- 

 ting had 5.3 acres of corn per farm. 



Hauling was done with a variety of equipment, from wood wagons 

 and tip carts to truck and low special wagons. The use of the low flat 

 rack made primarily for hauling corn is becoming fairly common 

 throughout the State, having spread from one locality in Grafton 

 County. (For description see Extension Circular 80.) Modifications 

 of this low special rack are to be found on scattered farms. A few 

 use a narrow rack which is pulled off the flat wagon-bed at the cutter 

 and replaced witli another; this saves on wagons but is somewhat too 

 high ; it rec^uires a man on the wagon to load and also involves stooping 

 to pick up the stalks and put on the cutter table. In one instance, a 

 rope on the wagon under the load is looped over the top and fastened to 

 a stake at the cutter. As the horses are started up, the load is pulled 

 off. This also reduces the number of wagons needed but leaves the 

 corn tangled. Some lacking the extra wheels have built low down flat 

 hay-racks, not quite so convenient as the special rack but serving a 

 double purpose. 



Tlie low rack saved on the average about 15 per cent, of the time 

 loading and hauling. (Table 20) This saving of time, of course, is in 

 picking up and loading. Efficiently used, the low wagon requires only 

 from 40 to 50 per cent, as much labor in the field as the high wagon and 

 tipcart. 



