Weight: Press box, 4,580 pounds; horse power unit, 3,350 pounds.
Bale size: 19-by-27-by-44 inches weighing 200 to 300 pounds or more.
Wire: Five per bale, 96 inches long including a pre-formed eye.
1906 catalog price: Basic rig, $550; with all options, $730.
Custom baling crew: Seven or eight men, plus a cook.
Horse/mule power required: For the press – eight to 12 horses working two at a time at a trot or faster for 20 bales (about 40 minutes) stopping only on the fifth charge, while wires were tied and the bale removed, then resting until their turn repeats.
For the Jackson fork – one or two ‘fork horses.’
Daily production: 35 to 45 tons of hay in good conditions without too many moves between settings.
Normal working hours: dawn to dark – Five meals per day; Three in the cookhouse and two lunches in the field. The farmer provided his own team and buck rake to bring hay to the press when baling from shocks.
