CULTURE OF WHEAT". ^ 



^^A nntn thP croD is SO fully ripe and dry that it will shell 

 ruffonTit^brrharlestin/and^ 



the field would no doubt, in this case, be preferable. As the 

 dryer the crop is when thrashed, the more readily would the 



'"^Mn^wtThought to be occasioned by cool nights when 

 the atmosphere has become cooler than the earth, which m 

 that caTe forces the juices upward too fast, and thus bursts o- 

 pen the stalks ; to which there is no remedy known: butite 

 ^ffoM« ft m said may be in a great measure counteracted, by 

 cS the XatTsoon as if is discovered to be struck with 

 mS . thir may be done three weeks before the usual time 



"^The'^rallf in that case will be smaller than usual but, it is 

 said will make much better flour, and the q^/n^i^y J^f ,^« 

 greater, as the skin will be found very thm. If the g^a^n has 

 Attained its full si-e, though only m the milk, i is suffi- 

 c entT as it will receive that nourishment from the s alk which 

 serve; to mature it. Mr. Young says, that when the wheat 

 4m has a particular cast, of a blmsh green, it is then aff-ected 

 with mildew. The green stalks of the wheat must be suffi- 

 cYently dried before stacking, and when carted m, they will be 

 clear of the mildew, and will make good fodder. 



It is believed by some farmers, that nothing is gamed by let- 

 ting wheat stand 'until it is fully ripe, that is, till the heads turn 

 down, before it is harvested. One reason given is, that if it 

 standi so long, considerable will be sheUed out before it is got 

 into the barnTand even if the bulk should m this case be great- 

 er still it is not certain the weight will be increased ; and as 

 wheat is sold by weight, not by the bushel, and as it is known 

 that the best flour is made from the earhest harvested wheat, 

 the farmer, from these considerations, may probably he the 

 gainer by commencing his harvest some earlier than the usual 

 time By this means too, he will be less m danger of havmg 

 his wheat grown by long continued rains; for wheat harvest- 

 ed early, is less liable to grow than that which is cut late. Hut 

 in ascertaining the proper state, it is necessary to discriminate 

 betwixt the ripeness of the grain and the ripeness of the straw ; 

 for in some seasons the straw dies upwards; under such cir^ 

 cumstances, a field, which to the eye appears to be completely 

 fit for the sickle, may have its grain but imperfectly consoli- 

 dated, and perhaps not much removed from a milky state, 

 though it is obvious that under such circumstances, no further 

 benefit can be conveyed from the root, and that nourishment 

 js withheld the moment that the roots die ; yet it uoes ngi tol- 



