THE WHEAT CULTHRIST. 341 



skin — and a portion of the starch of the grain is changed 

 into woody fibre. By this change, the quantity of starch 

 is lessened and the weight of husk increased. Hence 

 the diminished yield of flour, and the increased produce 

 of bran. 



" Theory and experience, therefore, indicate about a 

 fortnight before it is dead ripe, as the most proper time 

 for cutting wheat. The skin is then thinner and whiter, 

 the grain fuller, the bushel heavier, the yield of flour 

 greater, its color fairer, and the quantity of bran less." 



Color of the Straw. 



When the straw immediately under the head of grain 

 turns from a greenish to an orange hue, for four or five 

 inches in length, it is time to cut the grain. The ker- 

 nels or berries have then just passed out of the milky 

 state, but are so soft as to be easily crushed between the 

 thumb nails. At this time, some of the leaves on the 

 lower portion of the stem may be dead, but still, that 

 part of the stem remains vigorous for a few days. 



Mr. Robert Brown, of Edinburgh, a farmer, and for 

 many years editor of the " Farmer's Magazine," says it is 

 necessary to discriminate betwixt the ripeness of the 

 straw and the ripeness of the grain ; for, in some sea- 

 sons, the straw dries upward; under which circum- 

 stances a field, to the eye, may appear completely fit for 

 the sickle, when, in reality, the grain is imperfectly con- 

 solidated, and perhaps not much removed from a milky 

 state. Though it is obvious that, under such circum- 

 stances, no further benefit can be conveyed from the 

 root, and that nourishment is withheld the moment the 

 roots die; yet it does not follow that grain so cir- 



