180 THE PEOPLE'S FARM AND STOCK CYCLOPEDIA. 



I prefer to cut while the grain is still soft, so that it can be 

 crushed between the thumb and finger, and while there is con- 

 siderable sap in the straw. In 1878, I cut six acres of wheat 

 so green that the neighbors reported it ruined ; but my miller 

 stated at a meeting of our Farmers' Club that it was the best 

 sample of wheat brought to his mill that year. The advantages 

 of early cutting are greater value of straw and, as mentioned 

 above, less risk of loss from storms. There is also less waste 

 from shattering, and the sheaves are pleasanter to handle than 

 if left to stand until the straw is dead and brittle. There is 

 also less liability to injury in the shock, as the sheaves bind 

 together closer, giving less opportunity for water to gain admit- 

 tance. A much larger amount of wheat can also be stored in a 

 given space if cut moderately green. Shocks made of early-cut 

 wheat will stand better. 



Another suggestion is, that the best hands be put to shock- 

 ing, and that the greatest possible pains be taken to do this 

 part of the work well. A shock well set up and capped will 

 stand out through a long wet spell without damage, when one 

 that is twisted and misshapen will be badly injured. For some 

 years past I have used but one bundle for a header or cap 

 sheaf, and find it much better than two. In a heavy rain some 

 water will penetrate the shock under the cap, and with two 

 sheaves used for this purpose, it does not dry out readily, and 

 the wheat begins to sprout or mould sooner there than anywhere 

 else. Besides, two sheaves when soaked with rain make too 

 great a weight on the shock, and are likely to cause it to twist. 

 Still another objection to two-cap sheaves is that the second cap 

 sheaf is very likely to be blown off in a wind, and very often 

 will, in falling, carry the other one with it. I think a single cap, 

 if well broken and properly placed, will keep out as much rain 

 as two, and, for the reasons given above, be much better. In 

 putting on the cap sheaf, always put the head in the direction of 

 the prevailing winds, as the sheaf will be much less likely to be 

 blown off. In my locality, our winds are nearly always west or 

 north-west, and in capping the shock I place the heads in this- 

 direction. 



