Fig. 2.—A sled used in western Kansas for hauling sweet clover from the field to the thrashing machine.
It is the custom in some localities to leave the gavels to cure as dropped by the reaper on the ground, while in other sections they are placed in cocks that weigh about 300 pounds each when cured. If the gavels are to be placed in cocks, this should be done immediately after cutting, as the plants will be somewhat green and tough at this time and fewer pods will shatter than when the plants are permitted to dry before handling. When the crop is to be hauled to the thrashing machine on wagons it is best to permit the gavels to cure as dropped by the reaper, as it will then be possible to pitch them on the wagon with a large 4-tined fork. If the crop is to be hauled to the thrashing machine on large sleds, which is the practice in western Kansas, less seed will be lost from shattering if the gavels at the time of cutting are placed in cocks of such a size that they may be put on the sleds entire by two men lifting from opposite sides of the cock with 4-tined forks. The sleds used for this purpose usually are 12 by 20 foot in size, made of matched flooring and with 6 to 12 inch sides. ([Fig. 2.]) Matched or tight floors are necessary, so that all seed which shatters may be saved. These would not be so essential, however, if the sleds were covered with a tarpaulin or canvas. From the standpoint of saving shattered seed, this method of hauling the crop from the field to the thrashing machine is possibly the most economical thus far used. It is estimated that at times as much as one-third of the seed yield is collected from the floors of the sleds. It would be a good plan to replace the runners of the sleds with very low trucks, as this would lighten the draft considerably.
When sweet clover is cut with a self-rake reaper the crop is thrashed directly from the field. From 7 to 10 days of good haying weather in sufficient to cure the plants in the gavel or cock. Thrashing should be done as soon as possible, much seed is shattered by rains and winds. While a self-rake reaper is used to some extent in different sections of the country, it is used most extensively in the western North-Central States, and especially in western Kansas.
THE GRAIN BINDER.
A grain binder is employed extensively for cutting the sweet-clover seed crop. ([Fig. 3.]) The general use of this machine in many sections of the country is due to the fact that it is found on most farms and therefore causes no outlay of money, rather than because of its efficient work. It is not so efficient as the self-rake reaper unless it is equipped with pans and guards to save the seed which shatters.
Fig. 3.—Cutting sweet clover for seed with a grain binder.
It is possible to equip the grain binder with pans and extensions to the rear elevator plate and binder deck, so that at least 95 per cent of the seed which shatters when the crop is cut may be saved. Those pans and extensions may be made out of ordinary galvanized metal and strap iron. The galvanized metal may be purchased at any tin shop or hardware store, and if sufficient strips of iron can not be found around the farm for this purpose strap iron may be purchased at any blacksmith shop. The material for those pans and extensions should not cost more than $4.50 or $5, and it should be possible to have them made complete for $8 or $10, including material. Unless there are a forge and drill on the farm it will be necessary to have the braces and supports for the pans made at a blacksmith shop. The strap iron used in connection with the pans may vary in size, but for the most part it need not be heavier than one-eighth inch in thickness, and seven-eighths inch in width. The supports for the pan under the binder deck preferably should be one-quarter inch thick, as this pan will have much more strain on it than the pans under the elevators. Where bolts are to be used, ordinary stove bolts will suffice.