WHEAT 87 



not make as gocxl flour, nor as large a quantity, as when cut 

 earlier. 



As soon as cut and bound by the binder the sheaves may 

 be set up in shocks. A shock is usually composed of twelve 

 sheaves, ten of which are stood upright on the stubble end so 

 as to make a round or long shock. The other two are bent 

 at the band and put on top of the shocks as caps to keep the 

 inside of the shock from getting wet. After the shocks have 

 stood for a week or ten days they may be threshed or they 

 may be stacked and threshed at a later time. Sometimes the 

 shocks are left standing for several weeks before threshing, 

 but this is risky, because of the loss from wet weather and in 

 some cases from birds. 



Sweating. — When wheat is first stacked it draws damp, 

 "sweats'' as the farmers say, and gets warm. This is a per- 

 fectly natural process, and in a few days it will begin to cool 

 off and dry out. This sweating improves the quality of the 

 grain. If the grain is threshed before it sweats, the sweating 

 will take place in the bins, and here it frequently gets so hot 

 that it is spoiled for future use. In such cases the wheat 

 should be stirred every day for a few days. 



