FIELD CROPS 453 



binder and most of it is either stacked or stored in the mows of large 

 barns. West of the Mississippi River, in the Great Plains area, 

 both self-binders and headers are used, and only a comparatively 

 small portion of the wheat cut with the binder is stacked, the larger 

 portion being thrashed direct from the shock. 



The header is used most in the western portions of the Da- 

 kotas, Nebraska, and Kansas, but the relative quantity cut in this 

 way. depends much upon the season. It is usual to start with the 

 binder, and if the season is such that the grain ripens rather slowly, 

 the header is used but little. On the other hand, if the ripening 

 process goes on rapidly and the weather remains dry, headers are 

 used, because more acres can be harvested in the same length of 

 time. In the latter case the grain is stacked as soon as it is cut. 



On the Pacific coast and in the extreme Northwest the com- 

 bined harvester and thrasher is used quite generally. By this 

 method the grain is cut, thrashed, and sacked in one operation. 

 Dry weather nearly always prevails throughout this section during 

 the harvest season, and little injury results from exposure to weather. 

 Each of these methods has its advantages and its disadvantages, but 

 many of the disadvantages grow out of the abuse of the method. 



Effect of Methods of Harvesting. Owing to the fact that such 

 a large proportion of the wheat of the United States is produced in 

 the area lying between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Moun- 

 tains, commonly referred to as the Great Plains area, a very large 

 percentage of the total crop is, by^ reason of the methods of han- 

 dling, exposed for a considerable time to weather conditions which 

 cause it to deteriorate. 



The man who will take proper precautions with soil and seed 

 is also more likely to take proper care of his crop after maturity. 

 It can not 'be denied that many a farmer's crop of wheat is allowed 

 to be practically ruined for flour-making purposes after a very good 

 quality of grain has matured in the field. Sometimes this is un- 

 avoidable, but more often it is the result of carelessness. Many 

 times it happens because the farmer does not realize that these un- 

 favorable weather conditions materially injure the quality of his 

 wheat. Much of the wheat in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, 

 Minnesota, and the Dakotas is not even carefully shocked, the 

 shocks being set up carelessly and not protected at all by cap bun- 

 dles. This is especially true of the larger fields in the western por- 

 tions of these States. 



This exposure to the effect of alternating rain and hot sun 

 causes the kernels to swell and the branny coats to loosen, destroy- 

 ing the natural color or "bloom" and giving them what is termed 

 a "bleached" appearance. Even when well shocked and protected 

 'by a cap bundle, continued exposure brings on a change in the outer 

 bundles, which are only poorly protected at best, and after a shock 

 has stood a month, or even less, it is found that as a result of this 

 weather damage samples of wheat taken from the outer portions of 

 the shock are at least a grade poorer than those taken from the 

 inner part of the same shock. In thrashing, this poor wheat is 



