EYE AND BARLEY 



73 



before the heads appear. The later the sowing and the 

 poorer the land the later the date at which rye can first be 

 used as a soiling crop. Under average conditions this is 

 from February 15, to March 15 in the central part of the 

 Gulf States. Southern rye is somewhat earlier in matur- 

 ing than most varieties of wheat or oats. 



Rye for pasturage must be kept rather closely grazed in 

 the spring or else some of the plants will develop tall stems, 

 and in this condition these plants will not 

 be readily eaten by live-stock. 



Rye for grain may be harvested with a 

 self-binder, or if too long for this, with a 

 self-rake reaper. There is usually about 

 twice the weight of straw as of grain. Good 

 yields in the South are from 10 to 18 bushels 

 per acre. 



If rye straw is to be sold at the highest 

 price in the Northern cities, it should be 

 threshed on a special machine or rye beater. 

 This does not tangle the straw, which is 

 subsequently bound into bundles and baled 

 in a special press, for which doubtless an 

 ordinary cotton press could be substituted. 



74. Enemies. Rye, like wheat, is in- 

 jured by the Hessian fly, but has a smaller 

 number of insect enemies than most grains. 

 Among its fungous diseases is ergot (Fig. 

 26), which causes the affected grains to enlarge and project 

 conspicuously from the head, such grain constituting a poi- 

 sonous food. Preventive measures consist in avoiding the 

 use of seed rye containing such diseased grains and in sowing 



FIG. 26. ERGOT 

 IN A HEAD OF 

 RYE. 



