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When a severe blight or rust 

 has struck the stems of wheat, or 

 rye, it answers no purpose to let 

 it stand longer to ripen, or grow 

 hard. It is agreed that it should 

 be cut though full in milk. And 

 afterwards it may lie on the ground, 

 exposed to the sun and weather, 

 till the grain is hardened. But 

 the heads should lie so as not to 

 touch the ground; which may be 

 easily done, if the reapers will 

 only take care to lay the top end 

 of each handful on the lower end 

 of the preceding one. Some say 

 it vvill answer to cut it three weeks 

 before the usual time, and before 

 the stenjs are turned )ellow. 



If grass or weeds grow among 

 grain, it should be cut high, that 

 so the less quantity of trash may 

 be bound up in the sheaves. And 

 when taking weeds with the grain 

 cannot be avoided, it should be 

 reaped a little the earlier, that it 

 may have time to lie in the field, 

 till the weeds are well dried, with- 

 out danger of scattering the corn 

 by its being over dried. 



The bands should be made in a 

 morning early, when the dew is 

 greatest, and the straw most sup- 

 ple. But the best tinruB to bijid 

 the sheaves, is when the air begins 

 to be damp towards evening, as 

 the least degree of moisture will 

 toughen the straw and prevent 

 the scattering of the grain : And 

 there is some degree of dampness 

 in the air, for an hour or two be- 

 fore sunset. 



A late writer advises to make 

 the sheaves with only one length 

 of straw. 



After binding, it should be made 

 24 



up into shocks without delay, or 

 after standing in sheaves one day, 

 if the weather be settled and dry ; 

 where it is to stand in the field till 

 not only the straw, but the grain, 

 be thoroughly dried ; and till a 

 suitable opportunity present for 

 carting it in. It should be done 

 when the air has a small degree 

 of dampness, to prevent the scat- 

 tering of the grain. 



It would be best on some ac- 

 counts, that grain should be thrash- 

 ed as soon as it is carried in. But 

 as it is usually a hurrying season, 

 it is but seldom that the farmer can 

 spare time for it. It must, there- 

 fore, be stored most commonly. 



The best method of storing it, 

 is, to lay the sheaves up in the 

 barn. But if want of room re- 

 quire them to be stacked, care 

 should be taken that the grain 

 may not draw moisture from the 

 ground, by laying boards, straw, or 

 rubbish under the stack. A bet- 

 ter way still is to have a tight 

 floor of boards mounted on four 

 blocks, set in the ground, and so 

 high from the ground as to pre- 

 vent the entering of vermin. 



In building a stack, care should 

 be taken to keep the seed ends of 

 the sheaves in the middle, and a 

 little higher than the outer ends. 

 No fowls nor birds can then come 

 at the grain : and the rain that 

 falls on the straw ends will runoff, 

 and not pass towards the centre. 

 The stack should be well topped 

 with straw, that the rain may be 

 completely turned off. As to the 

 harvesting of barley, oats and 

 pease, see those articles. 



With respect to harvesting In- 



