THE WHEAT CULTURIST. 343 



all kinds of cereal grain. This subject should be studied 

 thoroughly. 



TIME TO CUT WHEAT. 



Rawson Harmon, an experienced wheat-grower of 

 Western New York, writes, in relation to the best period 

 to harvest wheat : " To be most valuable for millers, 

 wheat should be cut as soon as the berry has passed from 

 the milky to the doughy state. Wheat cut then, con- 

 tains more gluten and less starch, than if it were not 

 harvested until the grain is fully ripe. If wheat is 

 allowed to stand uncut, until the kernels become hard, 

 the gluten is diminished, and the starch is increased, 

 which reduces the quantity and quality of the flour. 

 But for seed, it should never be cut till fully ripe. 

 Starch is more valuable in its early vegetation than the 

 gluten. One cause of the increase of smut, of late 

 years, is the cutting of w T heat intended for seed, too 

 green. Wheat cut before it is fully ripe, should not be 

 sown. If wheat-growers would adhere strictly to the 

 sowing of no seed that is cut before it is fully ripe, they 

 would find smut disappearing without the preparation 

 of brine and lime. The farmer that neglects to brine 

 and lime his seed wheat, does not look to his best in- 

 terest. Smutty wheat is much improved by not cutting 

 until fully ripe." 



CUTTING WHEAT TOO GREEN. 



Although there is but little danger of harvesting 

 wheat before the grain is really fit to cut, still wheat 

 may be cut before it is really fit to harvest ; and in- 

 stances have been recorded, where the loss sustained 

 from cutting a crop too green, amounted to many hun- 



