254 THE WHEAT INDUSTRY 



soil, which has become much loosened by the 

 freezing and thawing of early spring and winter, 

 may be solidly packed together. 



Harvesting the Crop. - The self-binder is the 

 harvesting machine in highest favor. Headers 

 are used to some extent, particularly, as often 

 happens in dry years, when the wheat is very short. 

 July and August are the harvest months, the south- 

 ern part having, of course, the earlier date. Most 

 of the wheat is shocked, and in the west very little 

 of it is stacked. Threshing is out of shock, and is 

 usually done as soon as the wheat is dry enough. 

 Under this method, everybody wants to thresh at 

 about the same time and consequently many large- 

 sized threshing machines are owned in each com- 

 munity. Consequently in this region the thresh- 

 ing season is a short but extremely busy one. All 

 the machinery, both harvesting and threshing, is of 

 large size and great capacity. Thus, as a result of 

 large fields and a scattered population, the amount 

 of human labor necessary to produce a bushel of 

 wheat is reduced to the minimum. 



Marketing the Crop. - The Northwest Central 

 Plains is a region of numerous country elevators. 

 The wheat is all marketed in bulk. Many farms 

 are likewise equipped with granaries in order that 

 the farmer may hold his product for favorable 

 market conditions. The wheat is hauled in wagons 

 of 50 or 60 bushels capacity either direct from 



