130 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



but a neat, compact, square butted, well balanced, tightly bound sheaf 

 is the result. 



These bundles, by courtesy called sheaves, are then thrown in a heap, 

 known as a shock, and as a rule they are a shock to the nervous system 

 of any one who appreciates neat, artistic work, in performing the neces- 

 sary labor of the farm. 



The shocks are allowed to remain in the field, exposed to the weather, 

 be it dry or wet, it matters not, they must wait until the threshing ma- 

 chine arrives, be it early or late. And I need not add, for you all know, 

 that millions of dollars have been lost to the farmers of Iowa within the 

 last few years by the indefensible custom of threshing from the shock, 

 rather than stacking the grain in a proper manner. 



Having outlined briefly the methods pursued in the production of oats, 

 not by all the farmers of Iowa, but by the great majority, I will now call 

 attention to a method by which far better results will be secured. 



In the first place good seed is imperative and the best oats that can be 

 had should be procured and they should be thoroughly cleaned with the 

 fanning mill, eliminating all light grains and foul seeds, leaving only 

 for seed the plumpest and heaviest kernels. 



As the quality of the oats the present season is very inferior and light 

 in weight, it might be advisable to procure seed oats from localities north 

 of Iowa, being sure that they had been well kept, sound, of good weight, 

 and free from foreign seeds. 



Oats for seed, as, in fact, all other seeds, should be harvested while 

 they are somewhat green, as they have more vitality than when fully 

 ripe, and if they are put in well erected open shocks as soon as cut and 

 properly cared for, will give a much more vigorous growth than when they 

 are allowed to stand in the field until the substance in the straw that has 

 fed the kernel is exhausted. 



In man, as well as the lower animals, the young and vigorous are much 

 more potent than the aged, and what is true in animal life is equally 

 true in plant life. 



To digress while on this subject for a moment fears are entertained 

 by many that owing to the backwardness of the season and the imma- 

 turity of the corn crop much of the seed corn saved this season will fail 

 to germinate. No fears need be entertained on account of the corn not 

 being fully ripe when the stalks were killed by the early frost, provided 

 that the seed corn was gathered prior to the middle of October and at 

 once placed on racks and thoroughly dried by artificial heat. The most 

 vigorous seed corn I ever saw was gathered when it was hard; roasting 

 ears placed in a room where there was artificial heat day and night, and 

 so thoroughly dried that the kernels resembled pebbles in hardness. 

 Not a single kernel of that seed corn failed to germinate and produce a 

 strong, healthy stalk, and in this connection it might be recalled that 

 while we had probably the best corn crop in 1906 ever harvested in Iowa, 

 the quality also of the best, largely grading No. 2 in Chicago, our seed 

 corn the present year proved far from satisfactory, as there was not to 

 exceed two-thirds of full stand of corn in the state. This condition no 

 doubt resulted from neglect in saving seed corn in a proper manner and 

 this neglect cost the farmers of Iowa millions of dollars the present year. 



