94 University of California Publications in Agricultural Sciences [Vol. 1 



all of the grain is left standing- on the straw in the field until 

 it is "dead ripe" and finally cut in that condition and threshed in 

 a single operation by means of a combined harvester. 



In the later method the grain often stands on the straw and 

 is subjected to the action of the sun for several weeks after 

 reaching the hard dough stage. This difference in the method 

 of harvesting has led to the belief among many that the time 

 of cutting might be one of the causes of the relatively low protein 

 (gluten) content of Pacific Coast wheats. 



With the idea of determining the effect of such standing in 

 the field, a series of experiments was planned to ascertain what 

 might be the influence of this practice. 



For the purposes of this experiment several varieties of wheat 

 whose kernels possessed distinctive characteristics as indicated 

 in the preceding discussion were hand-separated into three groups 

 as previously sho^^'n (page 69). These were drill-seeded under 

 uniform soil and climatic condition at the several stations. One- 

 half of each lot was harvested in the hard dough stage, in which 

 condition it would normally be cut by a binder, and the other 

 half was left standing on the straw in the field until it reached 

 a condition suitable to be cut with a combined harvester. This 

 was finally harvested and each portion subjected to analysis in 

 addition to determining the percentage of typical kernels as 

 indicated by the physical appearance of the kernels, using 1000 

 kernels as a basis. 



Aside from the main question as to the effect of the time of 

 cutting upon the quality of the grain, the data as presented in 

 tabular form further furnishes a means for comparing the 

 original used, with the progeny as in the previously discussed 

 experiment (pages 69-74). 



