TIME OF CUTTING HARVEST OPERATIONS. 227 



straw be greenish, they are frequently left lying on the 

 ground for a day or two ; or they may be tied up in 

 sheaves, and stocked in the usual way. When grown 

 mixed with peas or vetches, the latter furnish the mate- 

 rial for the bands; when grown by themselves, it is 

 always desirable to provide bands of straw, ready twisted 

 for use in the field. Any wet day during harvest is 

 employed for this work, which can be done by women or 

 children ; and rye or oat straw is the best for the purpose. 

 The sheaves should never exceed 10 to 12 inches in 

 diameter, and the stooks should consist of six sheaves 

 rather than the number recommended for the cereal 

 crops. 



Owing to the herbaceous character of the straw, and 

 the late period of the season, they require to be left 

 longer out in the field from ten days to even three or 

 four weeks, according to the season and the district. If 

 they are stacked before they are properly dried the straw 

 is apt to become mouldy and unfit for fodder, and the 

 seed acquires a dark colour, and is lessened in market 

 value. In all cases, however, it is better to err on the 

 safe side to leave them a day or two longer than neces- 

 sary in the field than to cart them a day or two too soon. 

 In stacking it is generally advisable to build the stacks 

 somewhat smaller than the corn stacks, or, at all events, 

 to secure ventilation by means either of a "boss" or 

 hollow chimney, as described at p. 59. In regard to 

 shape and proportions of the stack, the data there given 

 are equally applicable to this crop. Owing to the habit 

 of the bean to carry seed-pods low down on its stem, it is 

 impossible, in stacking, to secure them all within the stack, 

 a certain number always making their appearance on the 

 outside. These should be thrashed off the stack at once 

 with a long rod or beater, and collected on a rick cloth or 

 tarpaulin as they fall. 



