WHE 



WHE 



497 



much smaller and shorter, and the 

 grain poorer, than those of the in- 

 termediate plants whose blades 

 were not cut. 



There certainly is but one case 

 in which it can be right that winter 

 grain, whetfier wheat or rye, should 

 be fed in autumn ; and that is, 

 when, by being sowed very early, 

 it is in danger of earing before win- 

 ter; for this should by all means 

 be prevented. But in no case 

 should a beast be suffered to feed 

 on it in the spring. 



" Wheat is ripe for cutting when 

 the straw is turned yellow, its ears 

 hang, no greenness appears in the 

 middle of them, and the grain is 

 hard when bitten." 



The farmers in England cut their 

 wheat greener than they did for- 

 merly, because they find it makes 

 a rather whiter flour, which sells at 

 a higher price. One of their skil- 

 ful farmers, who cuts bis wheat 

 early, says, tfaat he found upon trial, 

 his wheat early reaped was heavier 

 by the bushel, than the same wheat 

 when it stood till it was thoroughly 

 ripe. This might be owing to its 

 greater smoothness, by means of 

 which it lay closer in the bushel ; 

 for it is hardly credible that the 

 whole crop will be heavier for cut- 

 ting it green. But as loss by shat- 

 tering out the corn is thus prevent- 

 ed, it may be a balance to it shrink- 

 ing the more, as I think it certainly 

 does. The prudent farmer must 

 use his own judgment in this mat- 

 ter. 



Wheat and other grain that is 



lodged, may, and ought to be, cut 



the earlier : For after the straw is 



broken or corrupted, it conveys no 



63 



nourishment to the grain, or as bad 

 as none. 



The ancients reaped their corn, 

 as Pliny says, before it was fully 

 ripe. And it is certain that great 

 inconveniences arise from letting 

 some sorts of grain stand till they 

 come to their utmost maturity. 

 The chaff and straw are the worse 

 fodder. And if such corn chance 

 to take wet in harvesting, it suffers 

 the more for being very ripe. But 

 corn cut in a greener state will 

 bear a good deal of wet without 

 damage. 



When corn is blighted, it should 

 be cut the sooner, or even before 

 it is half ripe. For though it 

 ceases to receive nourishment 

 through the straw, it is said it will 

 improve by lying in the ear, and 

 that it threshes out the more easily. 



One acre of grain is a large day's 

 work for the reaper. The usual 

 price of reaping an acre in this 

 country, has been a bushel of the 

 grain. 



From three to four quarters, that 

 is, from twenty-four to thirty-two 

 bushels of wheat on an acre, is 

 reckoned in England to be a good 

 crop. 



To prevent loss by shedding, the 

 corn which is laid in grips, is to be 

 bound up in sheaves, either in the 

 cool of the evening, or before the 

 dew is (juite gone off in the morn- 

 ing. And it should never be re- 

 moved either into the shock, the 

 barn, or the stack, in the middle of 

 a sunny day, but rather at a time 

 when the slight dew is just sufficient 

 to prevent its shedding. See the 

 article Harvest. 



As to sowing wheat in drills, see 

 New Husbandry. 



