258 FIELD CROPS FOR THE COTTON-BELT 



312. Com harvesting machinery. — The simplest 

 horse-drawn implement for harvesting corn is the sled 

 cutter, Fig. 40. One type of sled cutter consists of an 

 ordinary sled with a heavy knife attached in front at the 

 proper height to cut off the corn plants. It is drawn 

 astride of the corn row. Other types have a heavy knife 

 attached to one or both sides and are drawn between the 

 rows of plants. A further improvement is the use of small 

 wheels in place of sled runners. This greatly reduces the 

 draft of pulling the cutter. Usually a man on each side 

 catches the stalks as they are cut. When an armful has 

 been obtained the horse is stopped and the fodder put 

 on the nearest shock. These simple horse drawn cutters 

 can be constructed on the farm at little expense. As there 

 is no expense for twine or repairs, they furnish one of the 

 most economical means of harvesting the corn crop. 



About 1895 the corn binder came into use. This ma- 

 chine binds the plants into bundles of convenient size; on 

 it is a bundle-carrier attachment that bunches the bundles, 

 whereby shocking and loading are greatly facilitated. 

 For cutting corn of medium or small size on land that is 

 comparatively level and free of stumps, the corn binder 

 is very satisfactory. On the rich river bottom soils of 

 the cotton-belt the corn grows so tall and bears its ears so 

 high on the stalk as to render the use of the corn binder 

 impractical. 



By attaching a "stubble cutter" to the corn binder one 

 may cut the corn stubs as the plants are harvested. This 

 is an excellent practice as it not only hastens the decay 

 of the stubble but leaves th^ ground in an excellent con- 

 dition for the succeeding crop. 



313. Shocking com. — Two important precautions 

 must be taken in shocking corn in the hiunid sections of 



