GRAINS. 159 



should be growu separately, harvested separately, threshed 

 separately, cleaned separately, and kept separately, for this spe- 

 cial purpose. 



The crop of wheat in this country can be increased fifty, ana 

 we honestly believe one hundred per cent., by attention to this 

 matter. If you sow ten acres of wheat, select one acre of the 

 best of the land, give it special attention, sow ashes and plaster 

 more freely on it, add a few extra loads of rich compost, give it 

 extra cultivation, go through it often while growing, and pull 

 all weeds, grass, etc. It should be allowed to ripen a little 

 longer than the main crop, (it will naturally mature a few days 

 earlier,) and be carefully harvested to prevent shelling. It shouM 

 not bo threshed in a machine, (as this often breaks the skin and 

 destroys the germ,) but very moderatdy with tlic flail. You 

 only want the plumpest, fullest, kernels. Every farmer should 

 have a fanning mill that will separate the large from the small 

 grain. {Fig- 64.) 



The jcut represents a fanning mill which will not only do 

 this, but will separate barley, chess, grass seed, etc. For cleaning 

 grass seed nothing equals it. Clover and timothy are sepa- 

 rated as if by magic, and the seeds of weeds are separated from 

 the whole. It separates grain into three grades, according to the 

 size and weight of the kernel, and the best bushel in ten, 

 twenty, or fifty, is easily secured for seed. 



But until you get this or some other separator you can still 

 further improve your seed by the following process. Clean 

 your barn floor, open the doors at both ends, when there is a 

 good current of air, throw the grain towards the wind, and at 

 the further end of your floor you will have the largest and 

 heaviest kernels. Sowing without selecting the seed is such a 

 shiftless piece of business that we should think any farmer 

 would be ashamed to confess it. Two kinds of wheat should 



