CEREAL CULTIVATION EASTERN AREA 337 



363. Stacking. Throughout the Eastern area the 

 grain is usually stacked or stored in mows as soon as dried 

 out in the shock, and allowed to remain so a few weeks or 

 months until thrashing can be done. Thrashing directly 

 from the shock, however, is sometimes practiced. The 

 cost of the latter method is a little less than the cost of 

 stacking and stack-thrashing. The advantages of stack- 

 ing are the protection of the grain from the weather, 

 resulting in its improved quality, and avoiding the 

 necessity for storage space for thrashed grain for some 

 time if not entirely, if it is not desired to market it at 

 once after harvest. Color and soundness of the kernel 

 are particular qualities in the sale of barley, making it 

 important to stack this crop. 



It is important to do the stacking very carefully, in 

 order that the stacks may shed water. Barley is usually 

 more difficult to stack than wheat or oats, because of its 

 short straw. The bottom of the stack should be kept 

 from contact with the ground by pieces of wood, dry straw, 

 or brush. A ditch should be cut all around the stack 

 after it is completed, to carry off surface water during 

 rains. The operation of stacking is one requiring consid- 

 erable skill. The essentials are (1) to maintain a full 

 middle, (2) to construct a proper " bulge " without slip- 

 ping, and (3) to top off the stack so as to shed water. 

 Ricks should probably be covered with straw or wild 

 grass. 



364. Thrashing. All grain should be thoroughly dry 

 when it is thrashed. It will then thrash better, while 

 both grain and straw are likely to heat and mold if damp 

 when thrashed. It is important to see that the thrashing 

 machine is thoroughly clean before beginning the thrash- 

 ing, in order to prevent the mixing of varieties and check 



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