[AT] Corn Picking and storage.

[Alan Nadeau]

Obviously the mower was there to blow the dust away so the vermin could see 
a clear path to the door.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Larry Goss" <rlgoss at insightbb.com>
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Saturday, January 30, 2010 4:59 PM
Subject: Re: [AT] Corn Picking and storage.


> Uh, yeah. That description doesn't need any explanation, Herb.
>
> Larry
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Herbert Metz <metz-h.b at mindspring.com>
> Date: Saturday, January 30, 2010 14:50
> Subject: Re: [AT] Corn Picking and storage.
> To: Antique tractor email discussion group <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
>
>>
>> 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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