5 6 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY 



and involves a minimum of hard labor. It is 

 practical, however, only where the grain can be 

 allowed to stand until dead ripe, where it ripens 

 evenly and is free from weeds, and where rainless 

 harvests are expected. It is a method employed 

 extensively in regions where wheat grows so short 

 that binding is impossible. This condition we 

 find frequently occurring in parts of the western 

 Great Plains. 



The Combined Harvester-Thresher.- - In the ex- 

 tensive Sacramento valley of California and on 

 the plains of Washington and Oregon, a thresher 

 is combined with the header or binder into one 

 machine. The machine cuts a wider swath, 18 to 

 30 feet, and the cut wheat is elevated into the 

 front end of the threshing mechanism. This 

 combined machine is pulled by 28 to 36 horses or 

 mules, or by a large tractor engine. The straw 

 is scattered over the field and the grain is put up 

 in bags. From four to six men constitute a work- 

 ing gang, and an outfit can cut, thresh, and bag 

 from 500 to more than 1000 bushels per day. 



These machines, called combines, are adapted 

 only to districts which are free from harvest rains, 

 and in which fields are large. In some of the 

 regions mentioned they are gradually disappearing 

 because the extensive wheat ranches are being 

 divided into smaller units and farming is becoming 

 more intensive. 



