CHAPTER XXXVIII 



CORN HARVESTING MACHINES 



Sled Corn Cutter. These machines are arranged with 

 stationary knives set at an angle on the edge of a platform 

 and at such a height that the standing stalks will be cut off 

 as they are grasped in the arms of the operator standing 

 or sitting upon the platform. The machine is mounted 

 either upon sled runners or upon low wheels and is drawn 

 by one or two horses. When an armful of stalks has been 

 collected, a stop is made and the corn laid in piles or is 

 shocked at once. These sled cutters are often homemade 

 and are constructed in a variety of shapes and forms. 



Several machines have been devised with arms and other 

 mechanism to assist in gathering the stalks; but these ma- 

 chines, although quite successful, have not come into extend- 

 ed use, owing perhaps to 

 the fact that, if a more 

 expensive machine were 

 desired than the simple 

 sled harvester, the corn 

 binder would be pur- 

 chased. 



Fig-. 156. A sled corn harvester. 



It has been found 

 that the average acreage harvested in a day by two men 

 and one horse with a sled harvester was 4.67 acres, the 

 amount ranging from 2 to 10 acres. This variation is un- 

 doubtedly due largely to the weight and condition of the corn. 

 The sled harvester cannot be used successfully in extremely 

 heavy corn or in corn which does not stand upright. 



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