«iPMory't.N6‘.co.Ni 
VOL. LII. No. 2287 
NEW YORK NOVEMBER 25, 1893. 
PRICE, THREE CENTS. 
$ 1.00 PER YEAR. 
bank barn. The carrier is 30 feet Ion#, and goes over 
one silo and reaches the center of the other. There is 
a trap door in the carrier, over silo No. 1 that, when 
opened, lets the cut fodder fall into the center of this 
pit. To the table of the cutter there is an extension 
built 14 feet long, and with a descent of two feet The 
wagons are driven up close to this extension, and the 
gavels are thrown down as fast as the feeder can get 
the previous one out of the way. By 
this plan, it was noticed that there 
was no conflict between the men, 
and a big load was run through the 
machine in seven minutes by the 
watch. 
*• Our aim is to lift the corn but once in the whole 
operation. You see our cutting box is on the ground, 
so that if the fodder is on the wagon above the ma¬ 
chine, one man can unload it on the table, easier than 
two men could take it off from a low down rack, and 
put it upon a table, and in far better order for the 
feeder. You notice the two boys loading the wagon; 
they take up a gavel, and hand to the driver, top first, 
HOW THEY DO IT IN OHIO. 
The Cheapest Stock Food Out. 
The description of the process of silo filling has be¬ 
come somewhat stale, and yet there is such a differ¬ 
ence in the methods pursued by silo men in different 
localities, that comparisons of their methods are 
always read with interest by silo 
men. In connection with this sub¬ 
ject, The R. N.-Y. is able in this 
issue to present an article with 
photographic views of the process 
of silo filling at the farm of Mr. 
John Gould, of Ohio, who, as a silo 
authority and expert, is known 
from one end to the other of the 
United States. 
I found Mr. Gould in overalls and 
jumper superintending the filling of 
the silo, and “giving a lift,” here 
and there, making the work of 
filling just “hum,” as one of the 
men expressed it. 
“ When were these wooden silos ? 
built?” I asked. 
“ One in 1885, and the other two 
years later. It was said that they 
would not last, and some say so 
now, but they are as sound as dol¬ 
lars, though one has been filled HfiSl/V' 
seven times.” 
“ What did they cost ?” 
“ The two cost about $75, besides 
roy own labor; they hold about 170 
tons. Of course, by being in the Ir %/Cr 
barn, a good deal was saved in ex¬ 
pense.” fjY f f 
“You seem to have a pretty small 
crew of men, do you not ? ” y - M,jmi 
“ A small force of men that know 
what to do, and can do it in order, |||* |r9j | 
will accomplish a great deal in the 
nine hours that we work. Now see 
that man cutting corn in the field. U | 
Do you notice that he is cutting 
faster than those three double teams 
can draw, and that there is no wait¬ 
ing at the machine for stalks? As 
fast as one load is off, another is 
there ready. Yesterday we put in 
over 50 of these big loads, and I 
think we will do better to-day.” 
Contrivances that Save Labor. 
“ I)o you have only one man to 
unload, and another to feed ? ” 
“That’s all. It used to take two 
to feed and two to unload, but now 
by this plan if the man who unloads 
will not throw his bundles on the 
feeder’s bundle, but on a clean table 
every time, two men will cut more 
than the four used to when we car¬ 
ried the corn, and put it upon the 
table. So the force at the silo has 
all disappeared but the man who 
feeds the machine and the drivers 
as they come in order, a total crew 
of eight men, besides myself.” 
“ You believe tuat the engine is 
the best power ? Do you think this 
plan better and cheaper than filling 
with whole fodder ? ” 
“ Why not ? I pay $3 a day for the 
It would take 
engine and driver, 
two teams on a sweep and a driver. 
Can I put a load of whole corn into 
the pits as quickly and as cheap as 
I am doing it ? Whole corn must 
be carried into the silo, and requires 
at least two men there to lay it, if 
fast work is to be done. Here the 
feeder does it all practically, for 
the carrier elevates it, and the dis¬ 
tributors scatter it as evenly as a 
man could, and thus save his wages.” 
“ Don’t you have a man in the pits 
to tramp the eneilage ? ” 
“ Not in the past five years. The 
ensilage as it falls on this little plat¬ 
form over the pits, spreads out in 
its fall to the bottom, and kfeps the 
ensilage the highest at the walls, so 
that the grain rolls towards the 
center, instead of outwardly. Since 
we stopped treading the ensilage, 
and keep it the highest at the sides, 
we have stopped having any losses 
in corners and along the sides. We 
have not lost 10 bushels of ensilage, 
except on top, in five years.” 
“What do you think it costs you 
to cut and silo an acre of corn ? ” 
“ Well, one year with another, not 
far from $3.50, including the board 
; in fact less than it would to hire the 
corn husked after it was in the shocks, let alone hav¬ 
ing the corn ground and the millers’ tolls paid, which 
I estimate all around to be fully one-fourth of the 
crop, which then falls far below the ensilage in feed¬ 
ing value; a thing that is now fully confirmed by 
the Vermont Station Reports.” 
“You feed this ensilage to winter milkers, then?” 
“ Yes sir. We cannot get the money out of a corn 
crop so largely by any other use I can make of it, and 
No Use for Corn Harvesters. 
“ Why do you not use some of the 
patented corn harvesters ? ” 
“For the reason that I think 
hand-cutting is the most economical. 
By hand it costs me less than a dol¬ 
lar an acre to cut, and, as you see, 
that man lays the gavels perfectly, 
one way, and all of a size. A good 
harvester and wagons made to ‘fit’ 
the machine for self-loading, would 
probably cost me over $100. The 
interest on that, and the yearly de¬ 
preciation of machinery, would amount to $15 at least. 
That more than pays for my hand cutting. With ma¬ 
chinery, I must have an extra team, and at least two 
more men, that would cost $(5 a day, and no more corn 
could be got into the pits than now, for the cutting- 
box is crowded. That man has cut my corn for five 
years, and he is known as the ‘ King ’ champion 
harvester, as that happens to be his name.” 
“ Why do you use the high racked wagon in draw' 
ing the fodder ? Is it better ? ” 
A Scene in John Gould’s Ensilage Corn Field. How they Cut. Fig. 250. 
corn 
