1906. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
711 
CORN CUTTING IN A DAIRY SECTION . 
How Handled for Silage or Dry Fodder. 
The question of corn harvesting is a burning one, 
but without any corn to burn. There are almost as 
many methods as men, and the growing of corn for 
any purpose is much curtailed by the fact that corn har¬ 
vest requires a good deal of hard labor. The labor 
problem is a difficult one at the best, and wherever pos¬ 
sible attempts arc made to avoid it. It is for this rea¬ 
son that less corn is grown by many of our farmers 
than was formerly the case. A few have discarded it 
altogether as a general thing. Those who have silos 
must either grow corn or leave the silos empty, and 
the latter course is not unheard of. In case of silo 
corn there are a few corn harvesters brought into serv¬ 
ice. Some corn cannot be cut with a harvester, and 
then it must be cut by hand. Much of that which 
might be cut with a harvester is also in this vicinity 
cut by hand frequently for want of a harvester. Much 
the larger portion of corn in this section is hand cut, 
and the common opinion is that with nearby help the 
corn is as cheaply cut by hand as by machine. For 
hand cutting, I much prefer a corn sickle. It is lighter 
than the other cutters, and works as well or better. 
The silo men often club together, exchange work, hire 
in all the neighbors and others that can be secured, 
whether with team and wagon or without. It is a 
lively time, and hard work. It is work to be remem¬ 
bered for a year at least, and serves as a topic of 
conversation for many a day. The group of farmers 
may or may not own a cutter and engine. If not 
owned, one is hired, and must be looked out for in ad¬ 
vance, for the time of silo filling is short and the 
occasion urgent. Having the arrangements made, cut¬ 
ters are set to work a day or two in advance of the 
arrival of the machine. The corn is thrown in gavels 
or small bundles without tying, except in case of ma¬ 
chine cutting. Most people like to have 
part of the corn, at least, wilted a little, 
but the matter of wilting or not wilting is 
usually a matter of convenience or ne¬ 
cessity. With the arrival of the machin¬ 
ery everybody gets on a “hustle,” or is 
expected to do so. Low wagons are pre¬ 
ferred, but there are not enough of them, 
and higher ones have to be used fre¬ 
quently. One man or sometimes two on 
the load, and as many as can be used 
to advantage around the wagon, is the 
usual method of loading. Four to eight 
or ten teams may be needed, though 
usually not so many as the highest num¬ 
ber named. Every man now, whether 
cutter, loader or one of the men unload¬ 
ing at the barn and handing corn to the 
feeder at the table of the machine, is 
doing his best, and every bit of the 
work is hard and heavy. 
The men who own silos are much in 
the minority. Others may grow as much 
corn as the silo man, but usually they do ^ 
not. Among the Borden patrons corn 
growing is encouraged, and in many instances a good 
deal is grown, but not for silage. The cutting is as 
for use in the silo, but the corn lies longer and dries 
considerably. It is bound, if in large quantities, and 
is filially set up in enormous shocks. A large number 
of the bundles are set up together and bound, and then 
others are bound together at the tops over the first lot 
for a sort of roof or protection to the others. In this 
way a quantity may be kept, if need be, till late in 
Fall, in the field, or even well into the Winter. 
The two classes to which I have referred arc the 
largest corn growers we have, but they do not by any 
means contain the largest lists of farmers. I he men 
who grow an acre of corn, or maybe two or three acres, 
for feeding, are much in the majority. These men, and 
the others, too, may cut some of the corn grown from 
some time in July or later till frost comes in Septem¬ 
ber, and feed daily to the cows. The usual practice 
in this case is to cut a few hours or a day in advance 
of hauling to the barn, so as to give a little time for 
wilting, but sometimes it is hauled as soon as cut. 
When time for completing the harvest arrives the corn 
is cut and wilted, and sometimes set up in the field by 
the side of a pole or board fastened on stakes. I. have 
seen it set up for curing along a stone wall or other 
fence. In our own case, we take the corn to one of 
the barns and set it up there if possible, because we 
think it is better under cover. We have more barn 
room than some have, but many others put the corn un¬ 
der cover if they can find room. It may be set up on 
floors, on the bays around the outside, and on scaffolds. 
We even take in poles and place the ends on barrels 
or other supports, and set corn along their length. If 
watched well and not allowed to go down it will cure 
out nicely, but if it leans too much and packs together 
there is danger of its hurting. Field corn is also grown, 
but not so extensively as 'that for silage or fodder. 'I he 
man who grows corn for feeding does not let it ear 
very much, nor get too large before cutting. For 
silage, ears to some extent are desired. The field corn 
is another variety. It does not grow so large, but 
must ripen up rather early. Practically the uniform 
practice here with field corn is to put two men to cut¬ 
ting and setting up around a corn “horse.” Four rows 
are taken each time, and if the corn is of good growth 
16 hills are set up together and bound, then the “horse” 
is moved on to the next position. The corn is left to 
cure in the field, then hauled to the barn, where it is 
husked. The corn stover is used for one feed a day to 
the cows so long as it lasts. Seldom is corn husked 
in the field. H. H. L. 
Bainbridge, N. Y. 
ALFALFA IN OSWEGO COUNTY, N. Y. 
I became interested in the Alfalfa question from 
hearing the talks of Mr. Witter at the institutes the 
past Winter. I have a piece of land (six acres), under- 
drained with stone ditches, that has been in constant 
cultivation since 1886. Most of this time the piece has 
been in strawberries and other berries, with crops of 
corn intervening. It is very rich, made so by constant 
applications of barn manures to the corn crops and 
commercial fertilizers to all the crops. I consider the 
piece the most productive plot in this section. 1 thought 
if any land hereabouts would grow Alfalfa this would, 
since they tell us that the land for Alfalfa must be 
well drained and very rich. Last year the piece was 
in corn, and grew silo corn so rank that it lodged in 
many places. This six acres produced more bulk of 
fodder than did my other 14 acres. It was plowed late 
last Fall, partly because we did not get at it until late 
and partly to help kill out the quack grass. Only three 
acres were used for Alfalfa, as the other part was too 
quacky. I wish to say right here, however, that we 
killed out all that quack on the other part by late Fall 
GOOD HIRED MAN AND MODEL STOCK. 
plowing, harrowing continually during the dry weather 
of Spring, and then plowing when the land was dry, 
and harrowing continually until ready to plant corn the 
latter part of May. The three acres seeded to Alfalfa 
were not plowed this Spring, but harrowed continually 
until about June 15, when it was seeded. Before the 
last harrowing we went over the piece and removed 
every little patch of quack by digging it out, and also all 
dock and other weeds not destroyed by the harrow. It 
was as fine as a piece could be fitted. 
We sent to Fayetteville, N. Y., and got 1,500 pounds 
of soil that had been taken from an old field of Alfalfa, 
and sowed this all over the piece by hand, as evenly 
as possible. The soil had got wet by standing out in 
a rain, otherwise we could have sown it in the fertilizer 
part of the drill. The seed was purchased of a Syra¬ 
cuse seedsman, and was represented as free from seeds 
of trefoil and dodder. We sowed the seed with a drill 
at the rate of one-half bushel to the acre, going both 
ways of the piece, and sowing a peck to the acre at each 
going over the piece. We sowed it both ways to pre¬ 
vent any skips as far as possible, putting the seed in the 
grass-seed attachment to the drill. The result was a 
wonderful stand, which has been the admiration of the 
farmers hereabout. Many weeds have come up in the 
piece, and to keep these down, as well as to strengthen 
the roots of the Alfalfa, we have already clipped the 
piece twice. As it stands now, it looks very promis¬ 
ing, and I expect to sow the other three acres to Al¬ 
falfa next Spring. There are several wet spots in this 
first Alfalfa field, and if these kill out I shall sow on 
some Red-top to take the place of the Alfalfa. Now, 
in regard to the interesting part. It is claimed that 
Alfalfa will not grow and thrive unless the soil is in¬ 
oculated with the right kind of bacteria. Practically 
every piece sowed to Alfalfa hereabout has failed, 
presumably from this cause. I find, on digging into 
my field and examining the roots, that they are thor¬ 
oughly inoculated, in fact, covered with little nodules, 
from one end of the piece to the other. I never have 
found any Sweet clover growing on this farm, hence 
I conclude that my Alfalfa has been inoculated by the 
soil received from Fayetteville. I send you a few roots 
showing the growth of nodules, which seems to me 
quite remarkable. l. j. farmer. 
Oswego Co., N. Y. 
DODGING THE MELON BLIGHT. 
I always read with interest all items about the culti¬ 
vation of melons. I have been raising them for many 
years in a small way, and only for home use, sometimes 
selling any surplus, or distributing them to my neigh¬ 
bors. Of course I read the note of Holmes Bros, in 
The R. N.-Y. My experience is that the blight is no 
worse on ground in melons the previous year, but 
comes “like a thief in the night” to old and new soils 
alike. The first time I had it badly it began in a few 
Hubbard squash vines on the north side of the patch 
and spread like a fire until the whole lay in ashes, as 
it were. I cultivate mine in a garden, and some years 
the blight does not appear, and was not bad last year, 
but the melons were no good on account of cold, 
damp weather. I find that the weather has a great 
deal to do with the quality, and that the melons need 
warm sunshine at near ripening time, and this, I sup¬ 
pose, is really the secret of the Rocky Ford melons. 
This brings me to the subject of this writing. Last 
year the Colorado Experiment Station sent me a bulle¬ 
tin that had an account of “a rust-resisting cantaloupe.” 
One of the melon raisers there noticed a vine, amid 
his blighted ones, that was fresh and green, and he 
saved seed from these melons. He found that the 
seed produced rust-resisting vines, and kept it up for a 
few years, until he concluded he had the quality of the 
melons and the anti-blight tendency secured, and then 
made the announcement. Early this 
Spring I sent for some of the seed. It 
was planted by itself, and came up well 
after the early drought was over. The 
vines grew vigorously, and now cover 
the ground and arc fresh and green as 
ever. The melons are, however, very 
slow in ripening, but what few we have 
had are of the true Rocky Ford flavor. 
A few hundred yards away I planted a 
patch of about the same size with seed of 
my own saving. The season being wet, 
these also made vigorous growth, but 
alas, in the last few days I can see the 
brown leaves appearing at one side where 
some cucumbers were first attacked, and 
the result is only too sure. This patch 
was planted with the red-fleshed melons, 
and they have proved much earlier than 
the others. They are very fine this year, 
however, and as the blight is so late in 
appearing, we hope to secure most of the 
product. As to the Osages, that the 
Holmes Bros, intend to raise, the last 
time we tried them we could get none 
ripe before frost cut the vines. If Holmes Bros, can 
raise Osages in Michigan, they must be in a place 
where the lake keeps away the frost. I appreciate 
them very highly, and would like to raise them if 
possible; we have succeeded a few times. 
Champaign Co., Ohio. s. s. staley. 
Rj N.-Y.—Since the above was put in type we have 
received this further note from Mr. Staley: “After writ¬ 
ing you yesterday 1 visited my patch of rust-resisting 
cantaloupes, and found that the blight had begun its 
insidious ravages. Two or three vines showed some 
brown on the leaves, so I fear it will not prove what I 
hoped it would.” 
CLEANING UP OLD FIELDS. 
There are many old fields that have been abandoned 
as not worth cultivating that have grown up in pines, 
green briers and other trash, which if the proper plan 
for clearing them is followed could soon be brought 
under cultivation. If such lands are cleared by grub¬ 
bing the briers and young timber the briers and much of 
the young timber will sprout for years, but if the brush 
and all trash that can be cut off is hacked without break¬ 
ing the roots, and when it gets dry burned, then the 
stock allowed to range over the land, the cattle and 
sheep will keep the sprouts down until the roots die. 
A few years ago I had an old abandoned field grown 
up with pines and green briers. I hacked the pines, then 
whenever I could find briers thick enough to burn 
through I set them afire. The fire would run through 
and kill more briers that would dry and would be ready 
to burn in a few months. As soon as the pines got 
dry they were burned. I burned the land over two or 
three times, pastured it with sheep, and at the end of 
the third year the roots were all dead and pretty well 
rotted, and the land was ready for the plow. Tf the 
plow had been used at first the brier roots would have 
sprouted for years. A. J. legg. 
West Virginia. 
