342 THE WHEAT CULTUBIST. 



cumstanced should be immediately cut ; because, after 

 that operation is performed, it is in a great measure nec- 

 essarily, deprived of every benefit from the sun and air, 

 both of which have greater influence in bringing it to 

 maturity, so long as it remains on foot, than when cut 

 down, whether laid on the ground or bound up in sheaves. 

 * * * Taking all these things into view, it seems pru- 

 dent to have wheat cut before it is fully ripe, as less dam- 

 age will be sustained from acting in this way than by 

 adopting a contrary practice. 



Another authority says that grain, if not reaped until 

 the straw is wholly yellow, will be more than ripe, as 

 the ear generally ripens before the straw ; and it is ob- 

 servable that the first reaped usually affords the heaviest 

 and fairest samples. 



In the " Farmer's Encyclopaedia " it is stated that the 

 indications of ripeness in wheat are few and simple. 

 "When the straw exhibits a bright golden color from the 

 bottom of the stem nearly to the ear, or when the ear 

 begins to bend gently, the grain may be cut. But as 

 the whole crop will not be exactly ripe at the same 

 time, if, on walking through the field and selecting the 

 greenest heads, the kernels can be separated from the 

 chaff when rubbed through the hands, it is a sure sign 

 that the grain is then out of its milky state, and may 

 be reaped with safety ; for although the straw may be 

 green to some distance downward from the ear, yet, if 

 it be quite yellow from the bottom upward, the grain 

 then wants no further nourishment from the earth, and, 

 if properly harvested, will not shrink. The young 

 farmer should study this subject most thoroughly, with 

 this book in one hand and wheat in the other. He will 

 soon learn when is the best time to harvest wheat, and 



