Manuiacturers oi iarm implements hare 

 now developed a seli-propelled com 



corn are handled with the machines. 

 One manufacturer's machine plants beans 

 in 18-inch and 24-inch, and corn in 40- 

 inch rows so that the tractor can work 

 in either field without changing the 

 width of the tread of the rear tractor 

 wheels. This combination four-in-one 

 machine costs less than a grain drill for 

 planting six rows of beans. 



Manufacturers also are promising a 

 self-propelled corn picker. It will not 

 tie up a tractor for the com picking 

 season, and it is possible that the machine 

 can be removed from the self-propelled 

 chassis and the chassis used for other 

 farm work. 



One new idea that may be tried is a 

 combination corn picker and equipment 

 to crush or shred all stalks and thus kill 

 corn borers. Back in 1926 such a ma- 

 chine was tried out in Ohio and it 

 seemed to do a good job of killing corn 

 borers, yet it never was put into pro- 

 duction. 



Pickup hay balers that have self-tying 

 equipment, using twine, are now being 

 made by several manufacturers. These 

 are one-man operated machines, and one 



picker. It looks considerably like the 

 self-propelled combines. 



man in good hay can turn out a good 

 many bales of hay an hour. However, 

 there may be some objection to shipping 

 twine-tied bales. One manufacturer has 

 a new self-tying baler which puts the 

 hay into a tight roll instead of a square 

 bale. It is claimed that these bales are 

 easy to unroll when feeding. A partial 

 self-tying wire baler is being built by 

 one company. It does everything but put 

 the end of the wire through the loop 

 and twist it. One man is required for 

 this job. 



A field baled hay loader for use with 

 any tractor is being made by one com- 

 pany. This machine is mounted on 

 wheels and fastens to the tractor. It 

 straightens the bales before picking them 

 up and delivering them to the wagon 

 behind. 



Field hay choppers are being built by 

 most implement manufacturers. These 

 machines chop dried or wet hay and 

 deliver it to a wagon from which it is 

 dumped into a blower and elevated into 

 the storage building. This machine 

 makes it possible for one man to make 



A disc plow used for terracing is demon- 

 strated here. 



hay by himself if the cutter has a blower, 

 or other means of loading the wagon, 

 which can be controlled from the tractor. 

 Chopped hay requires about one-half as 

 much storage space as long hay. 



A field hay chopper mower, and en- 

 silage cutter combined, mows and cuts 

 green standing hay, and picks up hay 

 from the windrow. It has an attach- 

 ment for converting it into a field en- 

 silage cutter. • 



Other machines in this line include a 

 hay crusher and mower. This is a trac- 

 tor-operated machine for crushing or 

 cracking the hay stems at the time of 

 mowing. The rollers do not have suffi- 

 cient tension to squeeze any moisture 

 from the hay, but the cracking of the 

 stems allows the moisture in the stem to 

 dry out in about half the time normally 

 required. This method gives better 

 quality hay, better colored hay and saves 

 most of the leaves. This machine costs 

 about $1200. 



Some of this machinery discussed in 

 this article is now available, and most of 

 it is ready to go into production as soon 

 as war conditions permit. 



George D. Miller. Rock Island county, has 

 attracted considerable interest with this 

 seli-styled 4-row tractor push planter. He 

 has been well satisfied with the time and 

 labor-saying results it achieved for him 

 on 151 acres of com planting. It can be 



backed or turned around anywhere a trac- 

 tor can go. It is flexible for easy planting 

 through uneven ground. One of the best 

 features is that the operator always has 

 his work in front of him. (Moline Dispatch 

 Photo.) 



CURING HAY IN BARN 



Plans for curing hay in the barn arc 

 now available from couhty farm ad- 

 visers and at the U. of I. College of 

 Agriculture. Mow curing in the barn 

 is made possible by blowing air into 

 the hay through tubes installed in the 

 barn. A motor and a fan are the 

 largest items of cost in installing the 

 system. 



Specific measurements need to be 

 worked out for each installation and 

 according to plans for the system. 

 Farmers are warned against trying the 

 fast hay-making technique unless they 

 have obtained plans tailored to the 

 mow area of their barn. 



JULY-AUGUST. 1945 



