VOL. LIV.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., JULY 15, 1899.
NO. 28
'gxpzxizntz S^avlmmt.
IN THRESHING TIME.
let Premium.—In threehlng In this neighborhood we used to follow the machine from
place to place, threehlng each job in turn, the
man whose wheat was threshed furnishing the
meal for all hands. As we are all email farm*
ers here perhaps the machine would threeh
three or four jobs in one day, and thus perhaps one or two neighbors would not have to
feed the hande, but the cookB would be iu a
flurry for a day or two, and knowing juet
which way the machine would move, or what
break might change the time of threshing,
and therefore they would not know how
many to cook for, or whether to cook at all;
then the rushing around for hands and to get
the hands together in the morning. It wae
agreed that the crew eyetem was all right for
the big farmer, but would not work eo well
for the little farmer where so much moving
was to be done. We have now had the crew
for two yearg. The threshermen furnish all
hands, even to tying the sacks. They have
their cook wagon and tent, which le eent on
to a convenient place, and the cook knowe
juet what to do. The farmer takes care of his
grain and foots the bill at 7 cents per bushel,
and the good wife goes on in the even tenor
of her way just as though the threshing were
not being done, I have heard threshermen
talking of certain farmers being good feeders, meaning that they set a good table, and
they would ruBh things to get there; or the
machinery needed cooling. But with the
crew system they run steady from start to finish with no dallying around, nursing a job to
get to some man's table. A thresherman
without a crew cannot get work In this vicinity any more. One tried it laBt fall, and although a good thresher with good machinery
he had to pull home with wheat in sight; and
we were wanting it threshed badly enough
too, but we waited for the crew.
Olark Oo. J. W. Williams.
2d Premium. — Here in Sumner county,
Kane, for eeveral years the threshers have furnished all the hands and fuel; they also board
their hands, and deliver the threshed grain in
the wagon. No sacks are used. The farmer
hauls the fuel, UBually coal, and empties the
wagon. The machine charges six cts. for
wheat and three for oats. They have followed
thiB plan for several years. Neither machine
men or farmers would go back to the old way.
They have a portable kitchen, the cook lg often the thresher's wife. Each hand furnishes
his own blanket. They sleep in the sheds, or
around the straw stack. One advantage to the
thresher is that he always Ins experienced
help, each man has his place. They will set
in one-fourth the time that it used to take
when they depended on voluntary help from
the farmer's hands. They begin a job at once
on arriving, as the help ig on hand. They often etart up and thresh a few loads in the evening, or in any little spare time. They can
often start an hour earlier ln the morning.
In a good season they can average 200 bushels
more a day than by the other way. Some of
the advantages to the farmer are, lgt. he has
no help to look after, which often takes a half
day or more, and lt is often that they have to
Bo around and notify them. Then likely one
or two will be abeent. It also takes time to
Payback which we ought to be using stacking
our wheat or plowing corn. 2nd. no hands to
hoard, except one or two to haul the wheat
'rom the machine. In this country nearly all
«e land is sowed to wheat. Many farmers
have not an acre of corn. The jobs run from
'W acres to 500 acres. It is all threshed out
tne "hock or stack as soon ag possible after
cutting. In hauling to the granary we uee
wagons with tight boxes. We have three. We
the wagon by the chute from the elevator.
The machine tallies the bushels or it is counted by the wagon load. Wet weather reduced
our yield this season to half a crop. There are
five machines within one and a half miles of
this town of Rome Station. D. M. A.
Rome, Kas.
3d Premium.—We have for several years belonged to a company or club of farmers combined to facilitate the work of threshing.
The farms of the nine members are situated
on or near a road with a distance of over
three miles between those farthest apart. One
machine is engaged to do all of the work beginning at one end of the line and taking the
farms in regular order, so that no time ig lost
in unnecessary hauling over the roads. All of
the threshing is done from the shock, and tbe
regular help on these farm supplies nearly all
of the 20 or more men needed and also all of
the teams and wagons. The men including
thoee who operate the machine, are furnished
dinner and supper. By a liberal exchange of
help among the cooks, the work of providing
for so many men ls not so burdensome. The
plan has given good satisfaction to all concerned. No time is lost waiting for the machine, nor ln going from one farm to another.
Worry over the uncertalnities of preparing
meals is reduced to the minimum, and then
there is little unneceeeary outlay of money, ae
nearly all of the work is done by the regular
farm force. O. P. L.
Union Oo.
In this neighborhood, which was originally
settled by people from thesouth, where hospitality ig carried to an extreme, it has been
customary from time unmemorlal for the
farmer to furnish board for the threshing
hands. This makes threshing time quite
burdensome upon the women of the family as
well as on the purse, as even with a small
amount of grain, it is almost always necessary to furnish a meal for 15 or 20 hands,
sometimes for 25 or 30. This takes off much
of the already small profit.
One never knows just when the machine
will come, so they live in a state of expectant
dread for days and perhaps weeks. Farmers'
wives vie with each other as to which can prepare the biggest and finest dinner; then the
hands, after their hot and exhausting work,
partake of great quantities of rich victuals,
much to the detriment of their digestive eyetem. There ought to be some way to do away
with much of this trouble and expense.
In some places each man provides his own
lunch, and where tried thie plan hae proven
very satisfactory. Lass time will be taken
forthe meal, and the men will be in better
condition for hard work than if satiated with
so much hot and greasy food.
As to threshing outfits which furnish all
their own men and teams and board themselves, this has never been tried in this locality. The plan seems to work well ln the thinly populated weet, but in thickly settled communities, where neighbors can conveniently
exchange work, it probably saves considerable
cash expense to do so. There seems to be a
growing sentiment agalnet boarding hande
ln all kinds of work, and probably before
many years this burden upon the farmers'
wives will be greatly lessened. J. G. W.
Wayne Oo.
The better method of threshing will depend
on the locality. In central Indiana, where
farms are email, I think the old fashioned
way of helping for help back the best way. A
poor man can help back and eave money.
But in localities where large farms predominate I think the best plan is to hire at a certain
price per bushel, the thresherman to fumleh
everything, and the farmer take bis grain
from the machine. Where farms are large
help is usually scarce and the uncertainty of
the weather often makes it annoying to get
it.   In some neighborhoods farmers, repre
senting about 20 men, all employ one machine and help each other until they are
through, and If there ie any great difference
in the time one neighbor has over another it
is paid for. I know of no better plan where
farms are small. The women folks exchange
help also, making a kind of picnic of it,which
aleo adds a social feature that needs all the
encouragement that we can give it. I'.
Northern Ind.
In our neighborhood It Is ruleable to hire a
man with the machine, and he furnishes all
the handp, except what hands it takes to care
for the wheat after it ls measured. We pay
the machine man from i}£ to 5% cents per
bushel for threshing, and the other men $1
per day. In former times when the machine
used to come the hands would be scattered
and not know just when to come. The preeent
way of threshing they are all together when
the machine comes. They all help to set the
machine, and are ready to go to work much
sooner, and then they are under control of
the machine man and I think they all work
better. Every man has his place and there is
no parleying. Cyclone machines only require 7 or 8 men to run them. Some farmers
object to the way they leave the straw. This
ls not a neighborhood for men to take their
dinners when they go to threeh. It has always been ruleable for the man that has the
wheat to do the boarding. There are not
many men that would like a cold dinner when
working with a threshing machine.     D. L.
Harrison Oo.
We omit a sentence occasionally from the
following, as they are merely repeating what
has been said by the writers above. The machine men now hire men here and there over
the country and pay them by the bushel.
There are hands enough to put the wheat in
the sack and stack the straw, if they do not
have a cyclone machine. Every farmer must
take care of hig wheat after It Is in the Eack.
The farmer must board all the men and feed
the horses used for hauling water. They have
been threshing for 4 or 4>£ cents per buehel
some years and furnish all the hands. As the
hands are paid by the bushel every man has
his place in setting the machine, so it is only
a small job to Bet the machine and get ready
for work. LaBt year while threshing for us
they moved the machine only about 10 or 12
feet just to make it a little handier for tbe
straw men. When the machine comes tho
hands are all preeent, and each one takes an
interest in puehing the work. B. W.
Oorydon.
Bivntw.
One of the moet coetly nuisances I have felt
In helping around is ln bad weather. We are
busy with farm work, and eay, "Well it may
be dry enough to thresh by nine a'clock, so
we can't take the team far from the barn, but
will tinker around and mow weeds." The
machine is anxious to get to running.and urge
the man with wet wheat to begin. So he finally lets the whistle blow. We all drop our
work, no odds how important, and rush In,
Then It le not quite as dry as we thought and
we sit on our wagons an hour or two till dry.
I have had it cost me a perfect nuisance for
six weeks ln a catchy year to pay back. It
costs others the same, but it costs us all too
much. If a thresher furnish his own help he
can control tbem better. And many of them
do not have a variety of work, aB farmers do.
They would not expect to work except In fair
weather. With ug we often want to break for
wheat. We get some plowed before threehlng,
and then wait a month and break the rest,
and we expect a third more wheat on the early
breaking. Ons other nuisance is that there
are always some who have little hay to put up,
and slip lt ln, and just as we get in good haying trim  they start the machine.   We  most
have to help, or the crowd will soon crystalize
and we are out. And when we arc ready tho
machine has its route fixed and its Bet of help
etarted nnd we may wait till the whole neighborhood le done, and then the crowd owee ub
nothing and do not care to help. They are
not to blame, nearly every farmer has work
ln the summer eeason that he can't afford to
leave to hire out for the money. What a
glorious relies It muet be to farmers to be allowed to go right into haying or corn plowing at onco after harvest and take time to put
up a lot of feed, and put com in fine condition! When the machine comes to thresh his
wheat he stops farmwork long enough to care
for the clean wheat, and ie hie own man again.
Some men who havo Bmall farme and do
not handle much money, and do not have
much work at home would rather work back
than to pay money. These could hire to the
machine men and have a eteady cash job,
Some around here tried taking cold dinners.
But they say that it ie not only hard fare, for
thoee accustomed to coffee and warm meals,
to eat a cold meal when at hard, exhausting
work, but that the women say they would
rather trade work with the neighbor women
and get one meal at home for a crowd than to
be forever fussing with cold dinners. If the
weather is good this is not so bad. Our friend
Joe Williams eays they rush to the family that
is a good feeder. I have seen that too. But
it often happens here that even poor people
are as good cooks as any and set as good a
taDle.
With our traction engines we do not have
the trouble we formerly had in setting tho
machine. Our machine bands will set the
machino so quick that the farmers have to
hustle to keep it in wheat.
The gain of 200 bushels a day spoken of by
our Kansas writer would not hold good here,
unless in catchy weather. Aa Mr. Beard says,
where the country ls thickly Bettled we can
help back better. And when we get telephones
it will be more practicable still.
At present in this community all threshing
hands are paid by the day. And the time runs
on, without regard to stopping of the machine. It would no doubt be fairer to pay all
by the bushel; then in a big days threshing
they would get big pay. It would average up
about right, and would interest all in the success of the machine.
Our postoffice motto this week is taken
from Oarlyle when he was ecolding people for
always being dissatisfied. "Believe that thou
deeervest to be hanged (which is most likely)
and thou wilt think it happiness to bs shot."
—No. 175, July 15.—In threshing, somo
neighborhoods take their dinners with them.
Some hire a man to furnish machine, fuel,
hands, board and all. Which plan has proven
most satisfactory to you, and why?
No. 170, July 22.—How do you can fruit?
Why does so much canned fruit spoil? What
vegetables are best canned?
No. 177, July 29—How can the busy housekeeper find time for the club? Name some
advantages and drawbacks to clubs.
No. 178. Aug, 5 —If you bad ten thousand
dollars to invest in a farm for 8 home, in
what portion of the United States would you
prefer to locate, and why?
No. 179, Aug. 12—(For children under ten.)
Name the books that you have of your own.
What papers come to you through the Post
Office this year? Of all the books and papers you have ever read, name one or two
books and one or two papers that you like
best.
Premiums of $1, 75 cents and 50 cents will
be given to let, 2d and best articles each
week. Let copy be as practicable as possible
and forwarded ten days before publication to
Oarmel. E. H. Collins.