Hiram in the Middle West

by Burbank L. Todd

The corn he had obtained from Daniel Brown proved to be all that Hiram had hoped it would be. That which he had raised for seed was so evenly matured and sound in the ear that Mr. Bronson admitted it was by far the most satisfactory variety Hiram had tried. And how it did mount up in the cribs with its glossy red and yellow grains!

The wheat thrashing had yielded Hiram not more than sixteen to eighteen bushels to the acre—scarcely a paying investment. But it was all profit for Mr. Bronson, as the crop had been planted when he bought the farm.

Hiram knew well enough where the fault lay. The land was not strong enough for wheat, and he proposed to plant but a small acreage to that grain for the next season.

"Oats will pay us better, I believe. Some of this upland can be plowed early in the spring, and as soon as the oats are off we'll disc and put in cowpeas, turning them under for the corn crop."

"Ow!" ejaculated his employer, "do you mean to plow under both the oat stubble and the peas for the corn?"

"If you want corn—real corn," the young fellow told him. "This land is poverty stricken. And give me all the cattle you can find, Mr. Bronson. I'll manage to feed them somehow or other."

The ensilage crop demanded his attention and the labor of all the hands for the better part of a week. Even Mr. Turner had been forced to confess that something had happened to that twenty acres of Sunnyside along the county road that heretofore had yielded such poor crops. Since Hiram's underdraining scheme had gone into effect the soil seemed entirely different. The corn and cowpeas had grown like a rank swamp. When cut and carted to the shredder it was so heavy it was all a man could do to lift a forkful.

It was not particularly hard to load the wagon in the field; getting the ensilage off the cart was the more difficult part of the job.

A brief experience taught the young farm manager something. He unhung the wagon and put the low wheels behind and the big wheels in front. With side racks spread at a wide angle and chains front and rear to hold the racks, they were enabled to pile an enormous load upon the sloping wagon body.

The Percherons could pull all the ensilage the men could pile on. When drawn to the shredder all that was needed was to unfasten the chains at front and rear and draw the wagon out from under the load.