158 



STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



It seems to nic that the fiirnior cannot alloid at this tune — when nearly all 

 the hard labor is done to secure the crop — to allow his work to be so poorly 

 done, or so hastily done, that it materially injures the quality and market price 

 of the crop. I could name to you, if I thought best to do so, several farmers 

 that had from three to seven hundred bushels of wet wheat last fall, althoujjli 

 it was not considered a bad season for the saving of grain in the stack. 



Every farmer should have enough storage room for his crop of wheat. A 

 separate building for this purpose would be the best, as it could be made nearly 

 rat and mice proof, and the danger from fire would be so much less in a sep- 

 arate building than it would be in a barn that contained hay, stables, etc. 

 Every farmer having sullicient storage room on the farm should store his 

 wheat unless the price suits him at threshing time. 



Some farmers store in mills and in depots. This I consider a very bad prac- 

 tice. Wheat stored in a mill will sometimes bring a higher price in a depot or 

 in some other mill, and wheat stored in a depot very often will jDay better to 

 sell in the home market than it will to ship. Wheat stored is at the mercy of 

 one man, or one market, Avhile if his -wheat was in his own granary he could 

 take advantage of all the markets, and sometimes of the markets of several 

 villages. In regard to the time to market wheat, I -would say that I think 

 this is a matter that every farmer should decide for himself. I do think it my 

 duty to urge farmers to so arrange their finances that it will not be necessary 

 to thresh and put in market their wheat, or any part of it, until the price suits 

 them. It has been said, and I think with a great deal of truth, that a certain, 

 portion of the wheat crop will go into market as soon as it can be put there 

 after harvest, let the price be what it may. What I urge upon you is to so 

 situate yourselves that this will not be compulsory. 



Through the kindness of the editor of the Berrien County Record I have 

 been enabled to give you the price of wheat as quoted in that paper for the 

 months of May and August for the past twelve years. As statistics are not 

 considered very entertaining I will not weary you with their reading, merely 

 giving you the average for the twelve years : 



Price per bu. Year Price per bu. 



in August, • in May. 



$2.10 1808 $2.70 



1.15 1869 1.50 



1.15 1870 1.25 



1.00 1871 1.35 



1.30 1872 1.90 



1.40 -.1873 1.70 



1.15 1874 1.50 



1.25 1875 1.25 



1.00 1876 :i.20 



1.10 1877 2.05 



.80 1878 1.15 



.90 1879 1.00 



- 1880 1.35 



12)814.30 



13)819.90 



$1.19 average. §1.53 av'ge. 



Difference of 34 cents. 

 Brother farmers, we have already followed our subject a step beyond, per- 



