WHEAT. 



WHEAT. 



of corn produced, and every extra head of stock fed, 

 is a benefit to the whole community as well as 

 to himself, is so much added to the gross 

 produce and wealth of the country : there be- 

 ing, in fact, an increased return without an in- 

 creased outlay" (Quart. Journ. of Jlgr. vol. xii. 

 p. 24.). 



In a recent obliging communication, with 

 reference to this important subject, made to 

 me (March 1842), by Mr. John Hannam, he 

 observes in reference to the experiments above 

 detailed, " At the time I wrote you last I stated 

 that the bulk of the wheat reaped by me during 

 the present harvest was unthrashcd. I could 

 therefore only give you an idea of the quality 

 of the raw and the ripe by public opinion from 

 a sample sheaf. Since then the various cut- 

 tings (for I made several) have been thrashed 

 and ground. The result of which was, 3 

 bushels of the ripe gave 10 st. 11 Ibs. of good 

 flour, 1 st. 9 Ibs. of seconds (technically termed 

 ' sharps'), and 2 st. 5 Ibs. of bran : 3| bushels of 

 raw gave 12 st. 6 Ibs. of flour, 12 Ibs. of sharps, 

 and 2 st. 1 Ib. of bran. From which it appears 

 that the raw cut wheat gave 6| Ibs. of flour to 

 the bushel more than the ripe gave, while the 

 latter gave 3\ Ibs. more sharps and 1& Ib. more 

 bran than the former per bushel. 



"Your question as to the effect of early reap- 

 ing upon the vegetative powers of the seed I 

 have not answered, because I can give no an- 

 swer but what depends more upon opinion than 

 fact. I have never seen a practical trial made 

 of wheat, as seed, in the various conditions 

 necessary to warrant a final and definite con- 

 clusion. An American writer, commenting 

 upon my experiments, while he coincides with 

 my conclusions as incontrovertible, says that 

 it is ' equally indisputable' that the ripe wheat is 

 preferable for seed. For all this, I am not dis- 

 posed to assent blindly to any such doctrine, 

 because I have seen early cut wheat used with 

 perfect success as seed many times." 



The editor of the Cultivator, in noticing these 

 facts, remarks: "A farmer friend of ours, 

 growing wheat extensively, found last season 

 that one of his fields of wheat, then in a very 

 raw or green state, was badly struck with rust. 

 He determined to cut it at once, and did so, 

 amid the laugh or pity of his neighbours, who 

 thought him little better than crazy. The ad- 

 joining fields suffered little from rust, and stood 

 till fully ripe ; yet, at thrashing, the wheat first 

 cut gave the finest wheat and the best yield." 

 Mr. Hannam mentions a similar instance, in 

 which it was remarked of a farmer who was 

 cutting his wheat earnestly, that he " had cut 

 grass, and stacked muck;" when thrashed it 

 yielded four bushels per acre more than it had 

 been estimated at, and was sold for the highest 

 price in the market. In this country, the same 

 reason, arising from bad weather or a late 

 harvest, does not exist for early cutting, as 

 in England; but there are others, which ren- 

 der the subject of little less interest here than 

 there ; and the agricultural public of both coun- 

 tries are certainly much indebted to Mr. Han- 

 nam for the skill and perseverance with which 

 he has pursued these investigations in all their 

 parts. 



The editor of the Cultivator proceeds to no- 

 1128 



tice the experiments reported by Mr. Hannam, 

 and in so doing exhibits the results in a man- 

 ner calculated to be more striking than the 

 statements recently presented in detail. It 

 appears, says the editor, that J. Hannam, Esq., 

 a farmer of Yorkshire, England, made an ex- 

 periment in cutting wheat by reaping at five 

 different times from the same crop, with the 

 following results as to the time of cutting and 

 value of the produce of an acre, which he sets 

 down at 28 bushels: 



No. 1 was cut a month before fully ripe. 



No. 2 was cut 3 weeks before fully ripe. 



No. 3 was cut 2 weeks before fully ripe. 



No. 4 was cut 2 days before fully ripe. 



No. 5 was cut when ripe. 



Taking 100 Ibs. of grain, he found it to yield 

 flour as follows : 



Flour. 



75 Ibs. 



76 



80 



77 

 72 



Secondi. 

 7 Ibs. 

 7 

 5 



11 



Bran. 

 17 Ibs. 

 16 

 13 



14 



15 



"It thus appears," says Mr. Hannam, "that 

 No. 3 (cut two weeks before it was fully ripe) 

 is superior to all other varieties; giving more 

 per bushel than No. 5 (cut when fully ripe) by 



Ibs. of flour, and again of about 15 per cent, 

 on the flour of equal measure of grain. 100 Ibs. 

 of wheat of No. 3 makes 80 Ibs. of flour; while 

 100 Ibs. of No. 5 yields 72 Ibs. ; showing an 

 average of 8 per cent, in favour of grain cut 

 raw. In grinding, it was found that No. 5 

 ground the worst worse than No. 1. In No. 

 5 were a greater quantity of flinty particles, 

 which would not pass the bolt, than in any of 

 the others. The bran from No. 5 was coarse 

 and heavy ; while that from No. 3 was 'thin as 

 a bee's wing.' " 



Mr. Hannam extended his experiments to 

 some length, and sums up the advantages of 

 cutting wheat two weeks before it is fully ripe,, 

 as follows : first, there is a gain of 15 per cent, 

 of flour upon equal measures ; second, a gain 

 in the weight of straw of 14 per cent.; third, 

 a gain of about 163 in the value of every 

 quarter of wheat; and, fourth, a gain of about 

 583 upon every acre producing 2ff bushels. 

 These calculations are founded upon the price 

 of wheat in England, at the time the experi- 

 ments were made. The flour produced from. 

 No. 3 was of a far better quality than that pro- 

 duced from the grain cut at any other times. 



Produce. The fair produce of wheat (as is 

 well observed 'by the author of British Hus- 

 bandry') varies so much upon different kinds 

 of land, and is so much governed by climate 

 and mode of cultivation, that it is difficult to 

 form any acreable estimate of the amount 

 or average quality in ordinary seasons and 

 under the common course of management; 

 it may, however, be fairly calculated at 3 

 quarters, or, perhaps, 28 bushels per imperial 

 acre. To produce the latter quantity, circum- 

 stances must, however, be favourable, and any 

 thing beyond that may be considered large, 

 though on some land 4 to 5 quarters are not 

 unusual. The weight may average 60 Ibs. per 

 bushel. The straw is generally reckoned to 

 be about double the weight of the grain; an 

 acre producing three quarters of wheat of the 



