ARTIFICIAL DRYING OF WHEAT. 157 



only, but several on most farms, is decidedly worth consi- 

 deration. It is preferable to have two barns of moderate 

 size, rather than one large one, for the purpose as much as 

 possible of keeping the different kinds of grain separate, 

 as well as the better disposal of the straw. Where the 

 farm is large and hilly, as many are in this neighbourhood, 

 a barn with a shedding attached is very advantageous for 

 the purpose of consuming a certain quantity of straw by 

 cattle near where it is grown, in which case the manure is 

 more easily returned, thereby reducing the expenses of the 

 farm. Another barn may be allotted to wheat, either filled 

 with sheaves at harvest time, but I consider better suited 

 for the purpose of putting the rakings into as they are col- 

 lected at different times." 



23. Artificial Drying of Wheat. All practical au- 

 thorities agree in stating that the desiderata named at 

 the end of par. 2 1 are attainable at a small outlay of time 

 or money by artificial drying. The advantages to be ob- 

 tained from drying grain before being ground are thus 

 summed up by a practical miller. " It will yield much 

 more flour per bushel, and require about half the ma- 

 chinery to manufacture it that it otherwise does if not 

 dried. The quality of the flour is improved at least ten 

 per cent., as by drying the wheat all impurities of a vege- 

 table nature are entirely consumed ; and by extracting its 

 natural moisture the flour will absorb, when baked, more 

 water than it would before the grain was dried, which makes 

 the bread much more palatable, it being more spongy." 

 Any process, therefore, which enables the farmer to get the 

 highest value for his crop, by preparing it ready in the 

 highest condition for the merchant or miller, must be ad- 

 vantageous in a pecuniary point of view. Corn drying 

 then takes a wider range, and is valuable to a more widely 

 extended class, than is generally supposed. A few remarks 

 on some of the methods employed will therefore be of 

 some utility. 



Speculative as the opinion may now be deemed, we be- 

 lieve nevertheless that we shall yet see a very considerable 



