No. 4. State of Wheat for Reaping. — Cheap Steaming Apparatus. 109 



the sheaf cut on the 18th of August, and cut 

 a third. This i have said was ripe, but by 

 that term I do not mean that degree of ripe- 

 ness when the straw breaks, the ears curl, 

 and the grain shakes out ; but that condition in 

 which it is customary to commence cutting 

 it ; when the straw from the roots to the ear 

 is uniformly yellow, and has lost all symp- 

 toms of vitality. On the 14th September, 

 the third sheaf was housed, and on the 1st of 

 November I selected 100 ears from each sheaf 

 and put each parcel into a separate bag, the 

 straw from each parcel being carefully pre- 

 served. The ears in bag No. 1 — that cut 

 very green — were now threshed, the chaff 

 carefully separated and the gross weight 

 of the grain which was yielded ascertained 

 by an accurate balance ; after which, the 

 weights of a fixed measure of a certain num- 

 ber of grains were found ; No. 2 — cut raw — 

 and No. 3 — ripe — undergoing the same pro- 

 cess ; and for the results see the follovv'ing table. 



As this table is merely comparative — the 

 weights used being in parts, and decimal 

 parts of the same, for the convenience of mi- 

 nute experiment — it may not be unnecessary 

 to give the following table of the weights of 

 each sample in ounces, drachms, scruples 

 and grains, Troy. 



The straw was now weighed, when the 

 following was the result : 



No. 1, green, = 450 

 " 2, raw, = 475 

 " 3, ripe, = 450 



The next thing to be ascertained was, the 

 quality of the produce, or the comparative 

 worth of each description. An extensive 

 corn-factor and miller gave his valuation as 

 follows, and that he was willing to give for 



No. 1, 61 shillings per qr. of 8 bushels. 

 " 2, 62 do. do. 



" 3, 61 do. do. 



Thus, the wheat reaped a fortnight be- 

 fore it was ripe, has the advantage of the 

 rife in every point, viz., in the weight of 

 gross produce — equal measure — equal No. of 

 grains — quality and value, and weight of 

 straw. The sample. No. 3, was very bold, 

 but rather coarse: No. 2, quite as bold, but 

 very fine and thin in the skin : No. 1, good 

 and clean, but much smaller than either of 

 the others. 



Now, suppose we have three acres of 

 wheat, the difference in value, when cut at 

 the three stages of ripeness, will be 



No. I, green, £11 11 10^ 

 " 2, raw, 13 7 34 

 " 3, ripe, 12 17 3^ 



Showing a loss of £1 5s. 5d., or about 10 per 

 cent, by cutting very green ; and a gain of 

 10 shillings per acre, or nearly 4 per cent., 

 by reaping in a raw state, or a fortnight be- 

 fore ripe ; and it would therefore appear that 

 it is the farmer's interest to cut his wheat 

 before it is thoroughly ripe, by which he se- 

 cures, 1st, straw of a better quality; 2d, a 

 better chance of securing his crop from rust, 

 &c. ; 3d, a saving in securing it — thus ob- 

 taining an increased return without an in- 

 crease of outlay. — Quart. Jour. Ag. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 Cheap Steaming Apparatus. 



Amidst a variety of expensive and com- 

 plicated machinery for steaming food for cat- 

 tle, I beg leave to make mention of one which 

 has long been found fully to answer the pur- 

 pose, and which might be erected for one- 

 quarter the cost of some of those lately in- 

 vented, with large pretensions. It is, merely, 

 a cast-iron boiler with a cover, from the top 

 of which rises a tube of wood or iron, per- 

 pendicularly at first, then turns and enters a 

 wooilen box having a perforated false bottom 

 — the steam rises through the holes in this 

 false bottom and mixes with the potatoes, &c. 

 while the condensed steam and water which 

 may issue from them, drops through the holes 

 and lodges on the solid bottom of the box, 

 from whence it may be let off occasionally, 

 by means of a tap. A box 8 feet long, 5 wide, 

 and 3 deep, will serve for steaming in one 

 hour a quantity of potatoes sufficient for the 

 daily supply of fifty cows. The cover of the 

 boiler should be furnished with a valve, and 

 the box must have a tight lid, with a valve 

 also, which might be merely a square trap- 

 door, going on hinges — say a foot in length 

 and width — and falling into a shoulder or 

 groove. The cover must be made to lift off,, 

 for the convenience of emptying and filling 

 again, but it might be made steam-tight, or 

 sufficiently so, by laying cloths several times 

 folded on the edge of the box before the lid 

 is fixed, which may be kept down by a cou- 

 ple of uprights of wood, extending to a cross 

 beam, or perhaps to the roof or floor above. 

 Nothing can be cheaper or more convenieat 

 than such an apparatus, the iron boiler being 

 at all times ready for other purposes, by mere- 

 ly removing the cover having the tube, and 

 substituting for it any other. I agree with a 

 correspondent, that the time will be, when we 

 shall no more think of feeding our cattle with 

 raw food than ourselves. S. Jones. 



