HOW TO GROW GOOD CORN. 213 



CHAPTER XXXI. 



ON HARVESTING CORN. 



A knowledge of when corn is in the best condition 

 to be harvested is a matter of great importance ; and 

 hence some observations upon this subject may fitly 

 conclude this part of our work. 



Not to enter too deeply into chemical matters, we 

 may state, at least as a probable general conclusion, 

 that there is a period in the growth of grain and 

 pulse crops before they are ripe, in which all the 

 feeding qualities will be found diffused in the several 

 plants ; a little later, and the feeding matters will be 

 found more particularly concentrated in the seed. 

 Now, if oats, peas, and beans, be cut in this " green" 

 state, they make either a fresh food, or can be dried 

 into hay, which, when cut into chaff, is found to be 

 an excellent feeding material ; and as such crops can 

 be quickly cleared and cheaply employed, there is no 

 doubt but that they will henceforward be more gene- 

 rally used in this way than formerly. 



But, again, in ripening of wheat there would appear 

 to be a point in its progress short of " dead ripe," in 

 which every quality is fully stored in the seed ; and, 

 after this period, the seed-covering becomes thicker, 

 and makes more bran in proportion to flour : facts 

 made out from the following results of experiments 

 of samples in three different states : — 



