FARMERS' REGISTER— REAPING GREEN WHEAT. 



85 



mixture, with tiie addition of spirits of turpentine, 

 is likely to succeed as well as any other, or better: 

 but I have not yet had an opportunity of giving it 

 atrial. Half an ounce, by measure, of sjarits oi 

 turpentine being first \vell mixed with the soap, 

 and the sulphuret and water added as before; or 

 the wash may be made slronger, by adding twice 

 the quantity oi' each ingredient to the same quan- 

 tity of water. For desiroying slugs and vi'orms 

 there is no recipe so simple, atiendeel with so little 

 trouble, and, when properly applied, so efl'ectual, 

 us common lime-water. The jdants on which the 

 slugs are Ibund must be watered with it twice at 

 least, at an interval of three or lour minutes. li 

 you place three or four slugs on the ground, and 

 pour lime-water on them irom a watering pan, you 

 will soon perceive them throwing off a kind ot 

 slough, and afrer that crawling away; but if you 

 sprinkle them again with the iime-water, they vvill 

 not be able to throw oti' another slough, and soon 

 die after the second operation. "SVhen a person 

 has therefore watered as many plants as takes up 

 the time of three or tour minutes, he must turn 

 back to the place where he began, and water 

 them again. Lime-Avater, for this purpose, may 

 be easily made so as to be alwa3s ready. Into a 

 trough, containing about fifty-five gallons of water, 

 throw in two or three shovelfuls of lime, stir it up 

 three or four times on that day, and the next day 

 the liquor is clear and fit for use and will continue 

 to answer the purpose for some time, without ad- 

 ding any fresh lime, by stirring it up again before 

 it is used, and letting it settle. If the lime-water 

 be of sufiicient strength, it will destroy the large 

 grey snail with tv\rice watering, and all worms that 

 are out of the ground at the time of watering, and 

 it will not injure the most tender plant when used 

 in a clear state. 



THE CASTLE HOWARD OX. 



From the Biitish Fanners' Magazine. 



This most wonderful specimen of the short- 

 horned breed was lately exhibited in York, and 

 excited^the astonishment and admiration of crowds 

 of persons who went to see it. Its color is white 

 — stands about seventeen hands high — measures 

 three feet four inches across the loins — and weighs 

 upwards of 2G0 stone. 



ON REAPING WHEAT BEFORE THE GRAIN IS 

 HARD. 



For ttie Fanners' Register. 



There have been published at different times 

 various and opposite facts and opinions vvath re- 

 gard to the prop.riety of reaping wheat before the 

 grain is hard. In the agricultural journals both of 

 Europe and the United States, reaping green has 

 been announced by different persons as an im- 

 portant discovery, and as if the practice was alto- 

 gether new to the reporter and to his readers in 

 feneral. To meet these statements, there have 

 een others presented, of experiments conducted 

 apparently with much care and accurac}^, of the 

 comparative value of -grain reaped ripe and green, 

 and the results of which showed a certain loss in 

 the latter practice. Each of these various state- 

 ments, sn far as I know, stands alone, and is not 



compared, or considered in connexion whh others 

 v/hich are apparently in contradiction. I'his de- 

 ficiency it is my object to supply, in addition to of- 

 fering the results of my own practice in this re- 

 spect. The subject, in my ojiinion, presents one 

 of those cases in which both sides oi" the question 

 are true, though each may app-em- erroneous to 

 those who will not compare the opposite views, 

 and take into consideration all the cu'cinnstimces 

 which operate, or may be expected to operate, 

 during the time of reaping. It may be true, (and 

 i readily admit it as true,) that a head of wlieat 

 permitted to become pediictly mature on its stalk 

 in fine weather, will furnish the greatest possible 

 weight of grain, and of the best quality, to be de- 

 rived from the particular growth of wheat: and 

 that another taken off in a soft and gxeen state, 

 probably loses something, in quantity-, or quality, 

 or both, and cannot possibly gain in either of those 

 respects. This is the amount ofthe results shown 

 by the experiments referred to above, even if it 

 is conceded, (though very doubtfiil,) that the man- 

 ner of making sucli comparative experiments was 

 perfectly correct. -But though there may be no 

 gain fi-ona reaping green in fine weather, and even 

 some small loss of product, yet fine iveather we 

 almost never have through harvest — and it will 

 be better to lose five per cent, by reaping green 

 (admitting such a loss to be certain,) than to save 

 it by m; during, and then to lose fiir more from 

 bad weather occurring while the wheat is standinqr 

 in the field. This, I think, is the proper view ot" 

 the subject, and the proper mode of institutino- a 

 comparison of the products. If we could be sure 

 of having dry weather, I entertain no doubt ofthe 

 propriety and economy of not reaping until both 

 grain and straw are ripe. But with the strong 

 probability of more or less of rain — and the possi- 

 bility of a .loni^ spell of it — I am as sure that a 

 great saving will be found in reaping wheat aa 

 early as the state of the grain will permit. What 

 that state is, has not been described very particu- 

 larly, in anj' of the publications I have read; and 

 it is not unlikely that the uncertainty on this head 

 has caused some of the differences of opinion aa 

 to the propriety of the practice in general. I con- 

 sider wheat fit for the scytlie when the grain is in 

 the dough state — no matter h'ow soft, pro\'ided it ia 

 clear of milk, or when no fluid comes out separate 

 from the dough, when the grain is mashed be- 

 tween the fingers. But no one square yard of 

 wheat can be found, in which all the heads have 

 reached this state at one time: and, therefore, when 

 not more than one-tenth part of the grains contain 

 milk, I think it safe to begin to reap. There will 

 be some loss in the quantit)- of all the milky grains, 

 (though no injury to the quality of the sample in 

 general,) but less than would be usually found by 

 waiting long enough for every grain to be free of 

 milk. If the ]Mountain Purple Straw is the kind 

 made (which has generally formed the greater 

 part or the whole of my crop) it may be easily 

 known by the puri}le tinge on the stalk, when the 

 grain has reached the dough state. 



As I place the advantage of reaping green on 

 the greater certainty of avoiding the effects of 

 bad weather, it may be inferred that the expe- 

 rience of several years would be required to make 

 a correct decision. I began this jiractice in 1821, 

 and have never since failed to begin har\^est as 

 soon as enough wheat was fully in the dough 



