Dan’s neighbor Al has a big dairy farm, with lots of cows to milk every
day, and land enough to grow their feed. Besides his corn picker, Al has
other special machines. One of them cuts corn while it is still green,
chops it up fine and loads it into a truck. The truck has a sort of cage
over it to keep the corn from spilling out. Next, Al turns his tractor
into a stationary engine which runs a blowing machine. A wide belt from
a pulley on the tractor turns the blower, which shoots the chopped-up
corn to the top of a storage tower called a silo. The green stuff
ferments in the silo and turns into wonderful food for the cows.
Al’s fields are so big that he needs larger plows than the one Dan uses.
He hires an airplane to spread dust that kills plant-eating insects.
Al plants his hayfields with a seeding machine that he pulls behind the
tractor. Grass seed is so tiny that it can’t be planted deep. Al’s
seeder sprinkles just the right amount of seed on the soil, and then
squeezes a thin covering of earth on top. He says the machine “tucks
each seed to bed.”
[Illustration]
After the mowing machine has cut the hay, Al pulls his automatic baler
across the field. The baler scoops the hay up, then presses it into a
box-shaped bundle, slices it off neat and square, and ties it with
strong twine. One by one the bales drop out on the field, ready for a
truck to pick them up.
Some farmers rake their hay into long heaps called windrows before they
bale it. The machine that does this job has many teeth that whirl round
and push the hay sidewise into the windrows. The whole field has a
rolling look, like ocean waves.
The hay must be dry before it goes into the barn. If it isn’t, it may
get moldy. And green hay may even be dangerous. It can actually make
heat enough to start a fire.
[Illustration]
To be sure his hay keeps well, Al has a blower that circulates air
around the barn and dries the bales completely.
[Illustration]
Some farmers use machines that tie the hay into round bales. Others
don’t bale it at all. They use stackers to pile it into tall stacks
where it is kept till the cows are ready to eat it.
[Illustration]
The stacker fits onto the tractor. When it was first invented, farmers
thought it was a sort of luxury, because it was used so seldom. Then
they discovered that they could put it to work on other jobs, too. If a
platform of boards is fitted across the forks of the stacker, it turns
into an elevator that a man can stand on. Then he can paint the barn or
pick apples from high branches without having to climb up and down
ladders.