Other Points in Wheat Culture. 223 



dry when bound, it keeps all right. Lodged wheat, however, put 

 right in in this way heats too much. I put in some because it 

 was so hard to set up, but would not do it again. Dead ripe, 

 clean, standing wheat may be put right in the barn safely. Other- 

 wise I like to have it out three or four days, more or less, accord- 

 ing to the weather. Wheat cut in the dough and put in the mow 

 before it is entirely hard will harden up just as well as though 

 left standing out doors. I have tried it more than once to avoid 

 getting it wet. But my wheat seldom has any grass or weeds in 

 it. Wheat that stands out some time and gets very dry will make 

 less dust in threshing than if put in damp, so the straw gets more 

 or less mouldy. This is an important matter where one threshes 

 in the barn and keeps his straw in. Well put up, wheat will 

 stand through a good deal of bad weather without damage, but 

 still variety has something to do with this. I prefer not to make 

 bundles very tight. A rather loose bundle, not over large, will 

 dry out if it gets wet through by a driving storm. A very large, 

 tight-bound one will not. We put about ten bundles in a shock 

 when setting up. A dozen makes most too large a shock to dry 

 out well. We have put in only nine, setting three in a row and 

 two on each side and two for caps. Sometimes nine in the base 

 makes none too large a shock to cover well and cure out. We 

 break the bundles for caps in the middle, taking a few straws at 

 a time, so as to break them squarely down, not just bend them, 

 and put the first cap on with head to south and last with head to 

 west. Our strong winds are most likely to be from these direc- 

 tions, and the head will be least likely to catch the wind. It pays 

 in a bad year to take pains and have wheat right before it goes 

 into the barn or stack. One very catching harvest I went 

 through the field and run my hand into every bundle before it 

 went into the barn. The dry ones went in and wet ones were set 

 out, two and two, and dried, and some of the worst were opened 

 and then bound up again. We spent, perhaps, $10 worth of 

 extra time in getting it all dry and knowing that it was. My 

 hand got pretty sore in running it into so many bundles, and I 

 did not particularly think what I was doing it for, only that 

 wheat ought to be dry when it went into the barn, and it is not 

 my nature to slight any job. But when I drew the grain to mill 

 in Akron, and I stood and saw Cummins & Allen buy load 

 after load that was ahead of me in turn at seventy-five cents a 

 bushel, I felt pretty blue. I supposed wheat was worth nearly 

 one dollar. But they said this wheat is all damp and damaged 

 so that we cannot afford to give more. In turn I drove up with 

 mine. Mr. Allen run his hand into it several times as I was 

 unloading, but said nothing at first. When he gave me my 

 ticket to go to offic with, it was figured at one dollar a bushel. 

 Of course, I showed it. I would not have been human if I had 

 not, and this raised quite a breeze. But Mr. A. showed them the 



