3b2 THE FARMERS' HANDBOOK. 



Harvesting. 



This should he done with reaper and binder, if possible, though with care 

 a satisfactory sample can be made with the harvester. By the use of the 

 binder the grain is mellowed and improved b}' lying in the stooks ; and the 

 risk of loss from winds by harvesting when the grain is dead ripe, as is 

 necessary with the harvester, is avoided. The best time to cut is when the 

 grain is in the dough stage. 



Stooking and Stacking, 



Barley should be stooked the same day as it is cut to prevent discoloration 

 of the grain, and it must be dry before stacking. This is more important 

 than in the case of oats and even wheat ; if barley becomes heated in the 

 stack the colour and vitality of the grain will be affected. 



On account of the soft absorbent nature of its straw, a barley stack 

 requires to be well protected. 



Threshing. 



When threshing barley the machine must be set so that the grain is not 

 clipped and closely dressed — a little " tail " or beaid left on the s*^ed is not 

 objected to. If the harvester is used the combs should be more open than 

 is necessary with wheat, and it is an advantage to remove the concaves. 

 All machinery agents will supply full information in regard to harvesting, 

 as they recognise that their machines require a little adjustment before going 

 from wheat into barley. A new threshing machine will break the grain 

 more than one that has been in use for a while. On the other hand, if a 

 machine is much worn the grain will be threshed more closely at the ends 

 than at the centre of the drum, and new parts must be put in to even up the 

 threshing. The sheaves must be fed very regularly and steadily, avoiding 

 rushing the crop through. Proper care should be taken in adjusting the 

 machine. Six-row barley will need different setting of the machine to two- 

 row barley. 



As a combined harvester is very often used instead of a thresher it may 

 be said that the various machinery firms hold testimonials to the effect that 

 their machines will satisfactorily deal with barley. Instructions for each make 

 will vary slightly, but as a rule barley requires more sieve-room and a wider 

 aperture in the comb than wheat. Barley-straw hangs together more than 

 wheat-straw, and more cavings result from the threshing, but by watching 

 the sample of grain as it comes through any necessary adjustments can be 

 made. The less straw taken into the machine the lighter is the work for 

 both machine and horses. For a brittle dry crop a little more space should 

 be allowed under the beaters than when the crop is not quite so fully ripened 

 A reaper-thresher makes a rather better sample than a stripper as a rule, 

 and there is no pulling up of the roots and waste of grain. 



The main consideration in a sample for the brewer is that the grain should 

 be evenly ripened, plump, bright in color, mealy ratker than flinty when 

 broken, and free from cracked and damaged kernels, which cause faulty 

 germination and moulds in the process of malting. 



