HARVESTING. 115 



a very satisfactory class of work. These are 

 quite expensive and are usually owned by 

 parties who go from place to place husking the 

 crop at so much per bushel and shredding or 

 cutting the fodder at the same time. The Key- 

 stone husker and shredder (Fig. 38) and the St. 

 Albans shredder (Fig. 39) are two of the prom- 

 inent shredders on the market, and the manu- 

 facturers of the Keystone thus explain its 

 operations: 



"The stalks are fed to the machine with the ears of corn 

 on. The feed rollers crush the stalks thoroughly and pass 

 them on to the knives, which cut them into fodder, or to the 

 shredder head, which tears the fodder into fine shreds, leav- 

 ing it in very much the same condition as hay. The fodder 

 elevator then carries it to the mow of the barn or to the shed 

 or staok. The feed rollers do not crush the ears of corn, but 

 simply snap them off the stalks. The ears drop to the husk- 

 ing rollers beneath the feeding platform, where the husks 

 and silks are taken off. The husks and silks are passed out 

 with the fodder and the ears of corn drop to an elevator 

 which delivers them to the.wagon or crib." 



This machine is a great invention, and in 

 large corn-growing districts should be an im- 

 portant factor in the economy of handling and 

 saving the crop. The husking is done as well 

 as is usually done by hand. 



Shredding. — The shredded fodder will keep 

 satisfactorily in the mow if well dried when 

 put in, but if it is damp it will mold. Care 

 should be taken to avoid shredding damp fod- 

 der. This material is very valuable for feed 



