HARVESTING AND STORING THE CORN CROP 259 



the cotton-belt: (1) the plants must be tied in small bun- 

 dles if the binder is used; (2) the shocks must be small. 

 When cured the fodder may be put in large shocks or 

 stacked. It is of paramount importance that the shocks 

 be so made and tied that they will stand erect and keep 

 the fodder dry. A shocking horse, Fig. 41, is very service- 

 able for shocking where the corn is cut either by hand or 



FIG. 41. A corn-shocking horse. 



with the binder. If a shocking horse is not available, 

 the stalks of four adjoining hills may be twisted together 

 at proper intervals through the field. These four stalks 

 will then form "gallowses" to support the plants in the 

 beginning of the shock. When one cuts corn by hand for 

 small shocks, many unnecessary steps can be saved by 

 following the system outlined in Fig. 42. Hills 1 to 8 make 

 the first arm load and should be cut in consecutive order. 

 Likewise hills 9 to 16 make the second arm load and 



