SCIENCE OF THRESHING. 75 



The feeders should be sufficiently acquainted with 

 the machine to be able to work in harmony with it, 

 in order that the work progress successfully. The 

 motion and working of the machine should be 

 watched by them so that any faults may be corrected. 



It is good practice, and usual in hand feeding, for 

 each to take his turn, one feeding a given time or 

 amount of grain, and then being relieved by the 

 other. The feeder is the one who is depended upon 

 to regulate the amount to be threshed and the quan- 

 tity of grain cleaned per day depends on him in 

 a large measure. 



The feeding should be even and continuous and at 

 as constant and steady a rate as possible at all times, 

 in order that the crew may become accustomed to the 

 average amount of straw and grain to be handled, 

 and so be able to judge of the labor required of them. 

 The motion of the one feeding should be adapted to 

 the kind and condition of the grain to be threshed. 

 The more the straw is divided and spread out, the 

 less power will be consumed in passing it through the 

 cylinder. When the power is limited, as in threshing 

 with horses, this fact should be well borne in mind. 



In steam threshing, where more grain is being 

 handled and there is plenty of power, the feeder has 

 about enough to do to keep the bundles passing in 

 without spending much time in spreading them out. 

 He should, however, feed as continuously as possible 

 in order that a bundle may be engaged and drawn in 

 by the cylinder before the preceding one has passed 



