Seft. 2, 1920.] Agricultuml Gazette of N.S.W. 



641 



Harvesting. 



While it is admitted that the best-coloured and finest-textured brush is 

 obtained from the heads when the seed is immature, the Manning River 

 farmers prefer to wait until the seed is quite firm. The brush has then, of 

 course, lost its prime colour and is a little inferior in quality ; but they 

 maintain that in normal seasons this quality sells quite as readily as the prime, 

 and they have the seed, which, since all poultry foodstuffs are dear, is in 

 greater demand by poultry-farmers than formerly. Beside making up for 

 the reduced quality of the brush, the value of the seed this season was 

 sufficient to cover the harvesting of the whole crop. 



The actual harvesting should 

 be cairied out in wartu, dry 

 weather ; otherwise, the whole 

 season's work may go Eor nought. 

 "Tabling" is the first operation. 

 Millet harvesting, owing to the 

 plants averaging anything from 

 10 to 14 feet in height, would be 

 rather a strenuous undertaking 

 were it not for this. Hence it 

 is that bending the plants over 

 to bring the brush within reason- 

 able distance of the knife is 

 practised. The former method 

 of bending in one or two places 

 and bringing the brush to within 

 a couple of feet of the ground 

 (heads hanging downward) has 

 been superseded by a more rapid 

 and effective method. The 

 farmer, bending two rows at 

 the one time, places each row 

 diagonally across each other, 

 forming a latticed table about 

 3 feet from the ground. The work is simplified if the operator faces the 

 direction of tabling. He is then in a position to accurately place the heads 

 near the outside edges so that they are easily accessible for cutting. 



The final operation of cutting is carried out by walking along the passages 

 between the tables, and removing the head with about 6 inches of stalk, 

 with a butcher's or some other suitable knife. The sheath enclosing the 

 stem is removed at the same time. Beside hastening the process of drying, 

 the removal of the sheath allows the reddish discoloration to dry out better, 

 and it also deprives aphis of shelter. The heads are then placed in 

 moderately thin layers on the " table " to dry, which usually takes from 

 thirty-six to forty-eight hours according to the weather and the maturity of 

 the crop. They are finally carted to the shed and placed neatly 9 to 12 inches 

 deep (or more if advisable) on shelves. The crop is then ready for hackling. 



B 



Box press filled ready to be pressed. 



