CEREAL CULTIVATION WESTERN AREA 415 



avoided by earlier harvesting. Sometimes the ripe crop 

 is left standing 4 to 6 weeks before harvesting. In a 4- 

 years trial at the Nephi, Utah, substation, it was found 

 that winter wheat yielded best harvested in the hard 

 dough stage. Harvesting in the green dough stage re- 

 sulted in the heaviest loss, due to shriveling of the kernels. 

 Nearly If bushels an acre were lost by cutting when 

 overripe, probably due largely to shattering. 



The Bureau of Crop Estimates has determined from 

 correspondence that the average periods of harvesting 

 wheat in the western states are about as follows : 



TABLE XV. THE , AVERAGE PERIODS OF HARVESTING WHEAT 

 IN THE WESTERN STATES 



Oats ripen about the same time as spring wheat, and 

 barley a little earlier than winter wheat. * 



442. Cutting the crop in the Western area is usually 

 done with the header or the combined harvester-thrasher. 

 Both these machines cut the grain higher than the self- 

 binder, the object being simply to get all the spikes. 

 The header is pushed before the team, and the grain is 



