508 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



food to best advantage. The heavier seeding would tend to produce a 

 greater number of plants, all of which would be of inferior quality. 



BROADCAST SOWING VS. DRILLING. 



Wherever possible grain should be seeded with a drill. When field 

 conditions make this impracticable the seed may be broadcasted. Drill- 

 ing permits of a uniform rate and depth of sowing and with much of 

 our grain sowing, a grass seeding is made. 



HARVESTING THE GRAIN CROP. 



The humid climate of the Upper Peninsula is a handicap to the pro- 

 duction of bright, clean grain. More of our musty, off-colored grain 

 comes from the way it is handled at harvest time, than from any other 

 source. 



Spring Wheat — Wheat should be well ripened before cutting, but not 

 over-ripened. The lower parts of the stem and roots die first and the 

 proper time to cut is when only a slight tinge of green is left in the 

 upper part of the stem. If allowed to become over-ripe, wheat tends to 

 shatter and produce a higher percent of "yellow berry." 



Oats — The time to cut oats is in the dough stage. Unlike wheat, oats 

 are heavier if cut in the dough stage and will have a brighter color. 

 The handling of the oats from time of cutting until threshed, will very 

 largely determine the quality of the grain. 



Barley — The barley should be cut when ripe. If it is cut in the 

 dough stage, shriveled kernels will result. Usually the hull on barley 

 will start to wrinkle when ripe, the water starts drying out of the berry 

 as soon as the process of storing starcli in the berry is completed, whicli 

 causes the wrinkling. That is the time to cut and let the water dry out 

 in the shock. 



Field Peas — The usual method of harvesting peas where they are 

 grown on a very large scale, is to use the harvesting attachment for 

 mowing machines, with this attachment consisting of special guards, 

 peas can be handled quite economically. The peas when harvested with 

 niachinery, should be ripe to the point that the vines are dry, as they 

 handle much better in this way, and can be handled directly from the 

 field. Peas should not be left in contact wath damp ground for any 

 length of time, as they bleach out and their market value is lessened. 



VARIETIES TO GROW.* 



There is a very great range in the merits of our various crop varie- 

 ties. Improved, high-producing varieties are usually the result of ex- 

 perimental work conducted by the various state experiment stations, 

 and carried on by Crop Improvement Associations. 



The Michigan Crop Improvement Association is organized to carry 

 on the work in this State, and under the direction of tliis Association, 

 large acreages of our various farm crops are grown each year for seed 

 purposes, thus saving us from having to use seed which has become 

 badly mixed and contaminated with scrub varieties. Through the 



♦.Pedigreed grain varieties mentioned in this biUletin mav be secured from the Mich- 

 igan Crop Improvement Association, East Lansing, Mich. 



