[AT] Corn Picking and storage.

[charliehill]

LOL.  I wish I had thought of that!

Charlie
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Herbert Metz" <metz-h.b at mindspring.com>
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Saturday, January 30, 2010 2:39 PM
Subject: Re: [AT] Corn Picking and storage.


>
> Many years ago on this forum someone told about a young journalist being
> sent out to do a story about some farmer.  He stopped in and they had
> started shelling corn out of a crib.  After while the farmer got his
> circular push lawn mower out, and started it, and let it run at at a fast
> idle (back in those days engines had throttles), and parked it about
> fifteen feet out of the way.  The young journalist was told to just wait
> around when he asked why the lawn mower.  When the crib became close to
> near empty, out came the critters, looking for shelter.
> The journalist's story did not include all details.
> Herb
>
>> [Original Message]
>> From: Paul Waugh <pwaugh at embarqmail.com>
>> To: Tractor <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>> Date: 1/30/2010 12:19:36 PM
>> Subject: [AT] Corn Picking and storage.
>>
>> This topic is starting to stir some memories.  The snapping glove my
> father used, I still have.  I have tried it a couple of times. The whole
> concept of going down through rows and getting beat around by stalks and
> piling corn in the snow because it snowed way too early, is a lot of 
> work!!
>>
>> My uncle was a hog farmer, raising 300-400 head a year. And doing it the
> hard way. A lot of work and TLC, he loved his hogs.  To do this he needed
> corn, so he built a crib around 1953. Big for our area. 60 ft x 60 ft x 20
> ft high.  It was divided into 3 sections. a 40 ft center, with a 20 ft on
> each side, and of course, 60 ft long.  Each section had a 'trough' in the
> center of the floor. This was 18 inches wide and 12 inches deep. They were
> exposed to the outside. There was a lip to hold 2 x 4's to cover the 
> trough
> before filling with corn. This gave ventilation and is were we would slide
> the 'drags' for the corn sheller.  It was a pretty neat set up and 2 guys
> could shell a heck of a lot of corn or a Saturday morning. The sheller was
> a MM, I have no idea of model, it was a pull type and pto driven. He had 3
> section of drags, each 8-10ft long, they could be hooked together to make
> one one drag.  Just pull a couple of boards off the through and let the
> corn fall into the drag.
>>
>> In the falls of 1956 & 57 my uncle contracted to shell 'government' corn.
> I have no idea what this was about, other than farmers stored the corn in
> every available place he could find.  Some were nice and used cribs. We
> would set up the drags along the outside and remove some bottom slats to
> get the corn out .. very little shoveling.  Some was stored in bins in
> upper part of barn, and was lot of shoveling.  The worse was hog brood
> houses.  A couple of farmers just lifted the lid and filled hog houses.
> Any idea how hard it was to get that first corner open enough to stand on
> the floor so you could shovel .... by then you were half done with that
> house, and the next was waiting on you. We were at one place 4 days
> shoveling houses.
>>
>> It was always interesting, bees, mice, rats, oh my the rats, birds nest,
> just about anything.  It was always fun on a warm fall afternoon, when 
> corn
> fell down and a wasp nest came with it .... they were pisssed to say the
> least. We did a round wire crib that had so many rats in it, we took turns
> walking around and smacking them in the head as they tried to squirm out 
> of
> the crib and corn  ... must have killed 20-30 rats that day.
>>
>> I will never feel 16 again, with the warm sun on my back, shoveling,
> sweating in 40 degree like it was summer .... I was one of the lucky ones,
> I can shovel right, or left handed.
>>
>> Paul-46555
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