The maize I am talking about would grow as tall as corn.  It was sometimes called High Gear.  It had a head at the top that contained many, many seeds about the size of a pea seed or a bb.  When the crop was ready the wagon was hitched up and driven to the field.  As the wagon went down the rows a sharp knife would be used to cut the heads from the stalks.  This was called “topping maize.”  The heads would be tossed into the wagon bed.  Each of the tiny seeds had a husk.  As the heads were tossed the husks would come off and get in your arm pits, down your neck, etc.  This caused one to itch.  By the end of the day you really knew you had been working not only because of the hard work but also because of the heat and chaff from the maize head seed husks.

When the wagon was full it was driven back to a shed or to a barn and placed in bins.  It was used to feed the horses and cattle.  My cousin Barbara Shaw Ramsey, daughter of my mother’s sister Leota, remembers going to the farm and playing in the maize bins sometimes making angels as those in the north do in snow.  She states it was a lot of fun, but she also remembers how it caused her to itch.  After the maize had been topped stalks remained.  The stalks would then be cut down by hand and used as silage.  Sometimes you would let the horses, mules and cows out into the field to graze.

 Corn was also grown.  There are two main types of corn, field corn and sweet corn.  In the fields the former was planted.  When the ears of corn were mature you would take the wagon to the field and remove the ears of corn by hand and put them in the wagon.  When the wagon was full you would take the ears of corn back to the homestead.  Farmers had what was called a corn crib.  This was a four sided structure made of slatted wood or wood and wire.  Corn was kept there and used to feed the animals.  Generally not much of the corn was shelled.  When some of the corn was shelled the cobs were not thrown away.  Some were used as kindling for the wood cook stoves.  Some were used for another purpose that I will write about later in another note.  The corn stalks were later cut down by hand and carted back to the homestead for silage.

Farmers had to grow crops to sell, to eat, and also to feed the animals.  Buying feed was just too expensive.  Too, going to town was too far by wagon.  Even after tractors were used most still went to town by wagon.

A third main crop was hay.  Timothy or alfalfa was planted.  When it was mature the hay was cut and then a hay baler was pulled through the field and the hay was cut and formed into bales about three feet long and 18 inches on the sides.  The hay would then be tied up using binder twine and sometimes baling wire.  The bales were left where they were made up and later the wagon would be taken to the field and the bales picked up by hand and placed in the wagon.  The wagon would be taken to the barn and the bales stacked for use as animal feed especially in the winter.  Now hay is cut by machine and instead of bales the hay is formed into huge rolls that have to be moved by a forklift truck or fork attachment to a tractor.

Granddad would also plant a small patch of sugar cane.  When we were little we would go to the patch and break off some sugar cane and eat it.  It really tasted good back then.