Jasper County Democrat, Volume 18, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 July 1915 — Grain Cradle Swingers in Brisk Demand. [ARTICLE]

Grain Cradle Swingers in Brisk Demand.

Owing to the ground being too wet to bear up the weight'of binders, quite a good many farmers having wheat still uncut were using the oldfashioned grain cradle last week and the fore part of this. Only the older natives have ever used sifch grain “implements, and the younger farmers and farm hands had to be taught. Dr. Washburn, who had about 40 acres of wheat uncut on his farm in Gillam tp., took out four cradles Saturday morning for his men to use, taking George Morgan along to instruct them in swinging the “beasts.” There was sqch a demand for these cradles, as a result of the soft condition of the fields, that dealers had trouble in securing them, there being but little sale for them in these piping times of grain binders. The local hardware and implement dealers had a few on hand which were grabbled up early last -week and more were got in by express. The editor of The Democrat used to be considered quite an expert with a grain cradle 30 or 35 years ago, and has cut many and many an acre of oats and buckwheat on the hillsides of his native heath in New \ork state, where the modern mode of cutting grain was unknown at that time. When we came to Indiana, 30 years ago, one of the greatest curosities to us waSs to see the grain binders at work, cutting and binding more acres of grain in one day than two men could cut by hand in a week.