B. P. I.— 599. 



HANDLING WHEAT FROM FIELD TO MILL. 



INTRODUCTION. 



In the campaigns being waged for good farming much is heard 

 concerning the maintenance of soil fertility, the conservation of 

 moisture, proper crop rotation, good seed, and good seed bed, pure 

 varieties, and many other vital topics. These are all important mat- 

 ters, but full benefit is not derived from the practice of these good 

 methods if the crop of wheat is not properly cared for after maturity 

 until it reaches the mill. 



Increasing the average yield per acre one or two bushels means 

 a great deal when it is considered that for the last ten years an aver- 

 age of •16,678,000 acres of wheat has been grown in the United States. 

 It would also mean a great deal if by better methods of caring for 

 the crop after maturity wheat could be placed upon the market that 

 would average one grade better than the present product. The 

 average yearly production of wheat for the last ten years has been 

 659,509,000 bushels. If the grade of this quantity were raised one 

 point, or one grade, it would mean an increase in price of from 1^ to 

 2 cents a bushel, which would give an increased value amounting to 

 from 10 to 13 million dollars. 



METHODS OF HARVESTING WHEAT. 



There are various methods of harvesting and caring for the wheat 

 crop, depending upon the section of the country in Avhich it is grown. 

 In the Eastern States the wheat is cut with a self-binder, and most 

 of it is either stacked or stored in the mows of large barns. West of 

 the Mississippi Iliver, in the Great Plains area, both self-binders and 

 headers are used, and only a comparatively small portion of the 

 wheat cut with the binder is stacked, the larger portion being 

 thrashed direct from the shock. 



The header is used most in the western portions of the Dakotas, 

 Nebraska, and Kansas, but the relative quantity cut in this way de- 

 pends much upon the season. It is usual to start with the binder, and 

 if the season is such that the grain ripens rather slowly, the header 



[Cir. 68] 



