[AT] IH Grain Binder

Herb Metz metz-h.b at comcast.net
Wed Oct 3 04:49:34 PDT 2012


Dad normally raised around 100 acres of corn; a good yield back then 
(central KS - before hybrid seed, before commercial fertilizer, before 
irrigation) was forty bushels/acre.  I can remember only two years when he 
hired help to pick the corn. On Saturdays I would pick the row next to wagon 
and Dad would pick the next two rows (and sometimes part of my row).  I 
remember one day when the mules would not advance the wagon, even after Dad 
commanded them. Then he spotted a small foot deep hole some animal had dug 
trying to get a field mouse.  Using the reins he guided the mules around 
this hole, and then back into the proper row.  After my gripping about the 
mules he noted we should be thankful for their intelligence because many 
horses would have just gone ahead and maybe stepped into that hole and hurt 
themselves.  He also noted that mules will seldom ever founder themselves; 
also they are more apt to just stand still if they get a leg caught in fence 
wire, etc whereas a horse will jerk around and further injure the leg. 
Ideally, the shucker (man) would support the ear with left hand while 
pulling back with the right hand against the ear causing the Boss shucking 
hook to expose a clean (husk free) area of the ear, the left hand then 
helping the right hand break the ear free from the stalk and surrounding 
husks, and then the right hand momentarily grasping the husk free ear and 
then throwing it into the wagon.  There were many stories about the 
capabilities of a good corn shucker; I am sure urban legend was involved 
occasionally.  One I remember was a good corn shucker often had two shucked 
ears in the air at the same time. In good corn a good shucker could get 100 
bushel a day.   I remember reading about corn shucking contests, every year, 
mostly in upper midwest where yield was much higher.
In above pick and shuck mean the same.
"Pulling sand lugs", would appreciate an explanation.
Herb

-----Original Message----- 
From: Larry Goss
Sent: Tuesday, October 02, 2012 11:33 PM
To: Antique tractor email discussion group
Subject: Re: [AT] IH Grain Binder

You had to pick the ears cleanly because you didn't want husks in the bin. 
We had two kinds of hook-- a BOSS shucking hook that strapped over your 
Jersey gloves, and a husking peg that fit over just the fingers of the 
glove.  Dad would rig a bank board on the side of the wagon so we could hit 
the target easier and pick three or four rows each.  It was a cold job.

Larry

----- Original Message -----
From: "charlie hill" <charliehill at embarqmail.com>
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Tuesday, October 2, 2012 9:50:22 PM
Subject: Re: [AT] IH Grain Binder

John did you ever pick corn by hand?  When I was a child (before age 9) our
farm was tended by tenant farmers.  My dad ran a service station from 4 am
to 8 pm 6 days a week and my mom taught
school.  The tenant farmers were often my "baby" sitters.   I can remember a
couple of days helping them pick corn by hand.  They had a wagon they pulled
with an Allis B that they named "Alice Mae".
We would walk along beside that B and break the ears by hand and throw them
in the wagon.  I'm sure I didn't do much but I can remember doing it.   I
also picked cotton one day when I was about 10 or 12.  That has to be the
hardest work I ever did.  Much worse than pulling sand lugs.   Not as dirty
but harder work.   We got paid a penny a pound for picking.  I think I
picked 40 lbs. all day long.  LOL.
I told daddy I wanted to do it and he let me.  If I had ridden in the truck
with him running errands he would have spent more than 40 cents keeping me
in honey buns and Pepsi's for the day.   Now you
know why I only picked for one day!

Speaking of your Dearborn picker, I've always wanted one of those Gleaner
tow behind snappers.  I just like the looks of it.

Charlie

-----Original Message----- 
From: jtchall at nc.rr.com
Sent: Tuesday, October 02, 2012 10:01 PM
To: Antique tractor email discussion group
Subject: Re: [AT] IH Grain Binder

We used to pick corn for squirrel food to sell at a local lawn and garden
store. We sold it for 4 times what it would go for shelled. Then Lowes and
Home Depot started selling it. It is much poorer quality and sold for more
than the store I sold it to got for it. That didn't matter since folks
migrated to the larger stores thinking they could get better deals. Finally
our market dried up. It was good while it lasted. At least we had a lot of
fun running my Dearborn picker. It was about 99% covered in rust and looked
like a pile of junk. Man would that thing pick corn! Dad swears he has never
used or seen another that would do as good as it. It's definitely an odd
machine for our area--most of the pickers were New Idea or either the usual
green or red brands.

John


----Original Message----- 
From: charlie hill
Sent: Monday, October 01, 2012 11:19 PM
To: Antique tractor email discussion group
Subject: Re: [AT] IH Grain Binder

I went in a store a few years ago that had paper board cartons just like the
old Pepsi or Coke cartons (you know the kind that folded flat and
folded out to hold six bottles) except they had a fancy logo on the with
pictures of squirrels or something.  Each of the six holes that should
have held a bottle of Pepsi instead held an ear of corn.   I think they were
getting 6 or 8 bucks for that piece of paper board and 6 ears of corn.
It's amazing what folks will pay for decorations or to feed wild animals and
then complain about the price of food.

Charlie

-----Original Message----- 
From: jtchall at nc.rr.com
Sent: Monday, October 01, 2012 10:05 PM
To: Antique tractor email discussion group
Subject: Re: [AT] IH Grain Binder

I have a cousin that would bind bundles of Silver Queen and sell to pumpkin
patches. He did it for a few years and made some pretty good pocket change.
I tried it but never could get the knotter on our binder to work correctly
so I just gave up.

John


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