HARVESTING 



141 



Progressive farmers realize that one of the best ways 

 is to raise as much stock as possible and feed the grain 

 on the farm. If this is done a large part of these two 

 valuable mineral elements will be returned to the land 

 in the manure. So long as cattle and hogs bring good 

 prices it is not difficult to make a profit in this way, 

 but when they are cheap very careful management is 

 required. Because of this, it has come about that 

 more and more attention is being given to the methods 

 which will result in securing the entire corn plant in 



the best possible 

 condition. The old 

 and somewhat 

 wasteful method of 

 husking from the 

 standing stalk, 

 then selling the 

 grain, still obtains, 

 but the saving and 

 feeding of the fod- 

 der is a larger and 

 larger item each 

 year. The silo 

 finds a place in 

 every dairy sec- 

 tion, and is be- 

 coming better known in the strictly beef and mutton 

 growing parts of the country. However, the great 

 bulk of the fodder crop will for many years be cut and 

 cured in the field and afterwards fed in the drv state. 



Fig 40— Simple Corn Cutter 



One of the cheapest corn harvesters possible 

 is shown in accompanying cut. It is simply a 

 sled with wide platform and sharp-cut edges at a. 

 This sled is drawn between two rows of stand- 

 ing corn. The stalks are cut off by the cutters 

 at a, and caught by two men who stand or sit 

 on the sled. When the armful is gathered, the 

 horse is stopped and the corn is taken to the 

 shock and placed in position. By placing 

 wheels at the front and rear of the sled the draft 

 is greatly reduced. 



INFLUENCE OF MATURITY UPON YIELD OF DIGESTIBLE 

 SUBSTANCE 



The stage of development of a plant at the time 

 it is harvested may materially affect its value as a feed, 



