1900 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
6o7 
BALING CORN FODDER SHOCKS. 
How They Do It in Kansas. 
Last week we told of the plan of cutting and shock¬ 
ing corn followed by Mr. J. C. Norton, of Kansas. 
Mr. Norton believes that there is a great deal of value 
in cornstalks, and he has studied hard to utilize this 
value. About two weeks after the corn is cut, pro¬ 
vided the weather has been clear and dry, he beg'ns 
to haul his stalks to the barn. He thinks that they 
deserve shelter just as well as the hay or other fodder. 
In order to get them all under cover in good condi¬ 
tion, it is necessary to bale or crush the shocks into 
a small compass, otherwise they would occupy too 
much room, and also be likely to spoil in the mow. 
Mr. Norton says that ne wants to bale a shock by 
getting a grip around it with a force of 6,000 pounds, 
and then hold it fast with a piece of hay-baling wire. 
In order to secure this grip, he uses the device shown 
at Fig. 215. A little study will show how this op¬ 
erates. A 19-foot plank 2x6 inches is fastened on the 
wagon. Two single pulleys are fastened at the ends, 
having the plank bolted diagonally to the bottom of 
the wagon platform. Two equalizing ropes pass 
through these pulleys around the shock, and hook to¬ 
gether. The other ends of these ropes are drawn by 
a five-rope tackle pulled by a powerful back-geared 
windlass. The figure needs little explanation. The 
rope starts from the windlass running through the 
tackles and pulleys around the shock, represented by 
ear of corn at the side of the plank. Then hook to¬ 
gether so as to give a continuous pull as the windlass 
is turning around. One can readily see what an 
enormous strain is thus secured on the shock. Mr. 
Norton says that the rope around the shock needs a 
first-class new one-inch rope, and three-quarters-inch 
new rope should be used on the tackle. He says that 
a 14-year-old boy working on the windlass can draw 
6,000 pounds on the shock without difficulty. Fig. 212 
cut in to receive the shape of the shock. This plank 
is on hinges, and folds over into the wagon frame out 
of the way. The hinges are the old hook-and-eye 
kind, so that the plank may be taken out whenever 
necessary. The shock shown in Fig. 212 is about 12 
feet tall and contains over two bushels of corn. Mr. 
Norton tells some remarkable stories about the possi- 
A SIMPLE TRIP-HOOK. Fia. 214. 
bilities of one man and a hoy in baling and handling 
fodder. 
Fig. 212 also shows another device to aid in loading 
or unloading corn. This is a mast fastened to the 
side of the wagon, which, as our readers will notice, 
is of the low-down, wooden-wheel pattern. This mast 
has two pulleys which work from the windlass. It is 
possible to hook on to the wire around the shock and 
thus lift it quickly and easily to the wagon. In un¬ 
loading, Mr. Norton says ha drives into his hay barn 
shocks or bundles when we find it necessary to put 
them in the barn, and possibly some of our readers 
will be able to modify this method so as to make it 
useful on their eastern farms. 
JAPAN PLUMS IN TEXAS. 
Having tried most of these varieties on a small 
scale as soon as introduced, we have, up to date, had 
a fair chance of studying their habits. The success 
with them is doubtful at best. First, we have not as 
yet a perfect stock to work them on. The majority 
are very much affected by curculio stings, followed 
by rot, so much so, that in sultry seasons, it is hard 
to find a perfect specimen ripening on trees. Past ex¬ 
perience demonstrates that, bushel for bushel, they 
bring no more in our markets than do fine peaches, 
which are by far the surest crop. A man can gather 
and pack three bushels of peaches to one of plums. 
If we could produce a crop in years when, owing to 
late cold, peaches fail, it might pay in some sections 
to plant largely of them, but most of the Japs bloom¬ 
ing at same time with peaches, they, as a rule, fare 
alike as regards escaping injury from late frosts. 
In our South, the peach will always reign as the 
queen of fruits. In our State (Texas), the Kieffcr and 
Le Conte pears are also playing out; all other varie¬ 
ties never have amounted to much. It was hoped 
that these two would stand the test and fill the bill, 
but blight, dry seasons and deterioration in quality, 
make them hardly worth planting. Such is my ex¬ 
perience. There is good money in apples; I am get¬ 
ting $1 per bushel for all good apples I produce. With 
irrigation and an occasional top-dressing of wood 
ashes, this crop is here as certain as in any part of 
the United States, it being here even freer from in¬ 
sect enemies than elsewhere. It is very rare that we 
find an apple that is wormy. Dry rot seems to yield 
to irrigation. Friend Munson’s hybrid grapes deserve 
mention as some of the most successful fruits of this 
UNLOADING THE SHOCK BY BOY POWER. Fig. 212. 
THE BALES IN POSITION. Fig. 215. 
shows how the shock is haled. The wagon is driven 
up close to it, and the ropes are put around, and then 
the boy turns the windlass until the shock is baled 
and crushed in together. This is held until a hay¬ 
baling wire is put around and securely fastened. After 
that the shock cannot fall apart, and occupies a com¬ 
paratively small space in the barn. If need be, two 
or three wires can be put in this way around a shock. 
Since the picture was taken, Mr. Norton says that he 
has added a plank four feet long and 12 inches wide, 
A PULLEY WITH A PULL. Fig. 213. 
and puts the shocks into the hay loft all alone. He 
draws the steel-track carrier by hand, and no horse 
is required for a load less than 400 pounds. The 
shocks are dropped into the mow one on top of the 
other, and allowed to tumble over and stow them¬ 
selves. He says it is best to have some one in the 
mow to jerk the shocks around with a hay hook, but 
he is alone in his work, and therefore lets them fall 
as they will. To show how this baled fodder stows 
away, Mr. Norton says he put 12 acres of baled shocks 
in one of the mows that only holds 14 tons of clover 
hay. Out of the 372 shocks lifted on and off the 
wagon, not one tie broke, and there was no waste. 
For dumping the shocks into the mow, he uses the 
simple trip-hook shown at Fig. 214. It is made of old 
steel wagon spring, very strong; yet a light pull will 
trip it. The link at the bottom of the hook makes it 
possible to lift bags, baled hay or other things by 
tying into the link a rope that has a ring on the 
other end. This link also enables one to lift three 
shocks at a time into the mow when a horse is used. 
Most readers will easily see how this trip-hook op¬ 
erates. Fig. 216 shows the hook closed without lift¬ 
ing a bale. Fig. 214 shows the hook open, the open¬ 
ing being done by pulling on the small rope and lift¬ 
ing up the ring. 
Mr. Norton says that when the baled shocks are to 
be thrashed or fed out, the best way to get the wire 
bale off is to cut it with a sharp blow from a hatchet, 
as it is nearly impossible to get a pair of pinchers un¬ 
der the wire. We give this interesting story of Mr. 
Norton’s operations, not with a view to advising all 
our readers to try it. It may work better in Kansas 
than it will east of the Alleghanies. We can all see, 
however, the advantage of baling or compressing the 
section, for high quality, productiveness, as well as 
hardiness and freedom from disease. For the South, 
quite a number of his new creations are equal to the 
finest varieties the North has produced. All of the 
Labrusca type have proved failures this far south. I 
am getting five cents per bushel for such grapes as 
Rommel, Jaeger, Carman and Gold Coin in our home 
markets; have plenty of vines that have from 30 to 
40 bushels per vine, the fourth year from planting. 
Ought there not to be money in that? But, strange 
as it may appear, mine is the only vineyard of any 
consequence for 30 to 40 miles around here. j. w. s. 
HOW THE HOOK HOLDS. Fig. 216. 
