196 THE YEAR-BOOK OF AGRICULTURE. 



Bind it up as fast as cut, and set the bundles in stocks, "Dutch fashion" ; that is, two and 

 and two leaning together, in dozens, or twenties, or any given number, so as to give an even 

 count. Set in this way, the most unripe grain will cure and perfect itself. 



The advantages are, the grain is heavier, sweeter, and whiter : there is less loss of shat- 

 tered grain; the straw, where that is an object, is so much'-Tbetter feed as make it worth while 

 to cut early, even if there were a loss on the grain, which is not the case. 



For seed, the best portion of the field should be set apart and left to mature until fully ripe, 

 and then carefully cut by hand, and very carefully handled, because the very grains which 

 should be saved for seed are the ones most easily shattered. Give these bundles a slight 

 thrashing, and give the grain a thorough winnowing; screen out all but the most plump 

 kernels, and sow those for your next crop, and you will succeed in improving both quality 

 and product. 



This question, of "When should grain be cut?" has been agitated for many years, both in 

 this country and Europe. 



In the second volume of British Husbandry, it is said 



" The question has been for some time agitated regarding the state of ripeness on which 

 grain should be reaped, and it has been recommended, as a general rule of practice, to cut 

 down the crop before the uppermost grain can be shaken out. Taking all things into con- 

 sideration, it seems to be the most prudent plan to have the grain cut before it is fully ripe ; 

 but in this, a medium course should be adopted ; for although grain, if allowed to become too 

 ripe, assumes a dull, husky hue in the sample, yet, if not ripened enough, it shrivels in the 

 drying." 



Cadet de Vaux asserts that " grain reaped eight days before the usual time has the berries 

 larger, fuller, and finer, and better calculated to resist the attacks of the weevil. An equal 

 quantity of the corn thus reaped with corn reaped at maturity gave more bread, and of bet- 

 ter quality. The proper time for reaping is that when the grain, on being pressed between 

 the fingers, has a doughy appearance, like a crumb of bread just hot from the oven." 



Mr. C. Howard, in the Report on Select Farms, says 



"Wheat ought never to be allowed to remain uncut till it is fully ripe. Experiments, easily 

 made, will prove to every cultivator of it that by permitting it to stand until the straw has 

 lost its succulency, he gains nothing in plumpness or bulk of grain, but loses much in its color 

 and fineness of skin ; besides which, he incurs the risk of shelling by the high wind, or by its 

 being cut under the influence of a burning sun. 



" When fully ripened by standing in the shocks, no dry hour should be lost in getting it 

 well secured." 



Loudon observes that "in harvesting wheat the best farmers, both in England and on the 

 Continent, agree that it ought to be cut before it becomes dead ripe. When this is the case, 

 the loss is considerable, both in the field and the stack-yard, and the grain produces an infe- 

 rior flour." 



An experienced Pennsylvania farmer of our acquaintance always cuts his oats while the 

 straw is green. This he learned to do, contrary to all old practice, by accident. His hay 

 crop was short one year, and he determined to cut his oats green losing, as he thought, the 

 grain for the sake of the straw. For seed, he left a strip through the middle of the field, 

 where the oats were best. When he came to thrash, he was surprised to find the early-cut 

 straw yielding as much and as plump grain as that which stood till it was dead ripe, while 

 the straw was incomparably better ; in fact, the stock ate it as rapidly as they would timothy 

 hay. Louisville Journal. 



On the Proximate Principles of the Bran of Wheat. 



SOME years since, M. Millon, as a result of long labor, arrived at the conclusion that bran 

 is an alimentary substance ; that bran bread and pilot bread was more healthy and more nu- 

 tritious than white bread. This opinion has been contested, and Millon has been ironically 

 attacked for not conforming to the regimen he recommends. But the opinion is now sus- 

 tained by Chevreul, who declared his views on the occasion of a memoir of M. Mouries on 



