HARVESTING OF BARLEY 223 



weeds. Harrowing is especially beneficial in dry seasons 

 or in sections of slight rainfall. 



268. Irrigation. A large part of the barley produced in 

 the Rocky Mountain states is irrigated. The number of 

 irrigations and the depth of water to be applied varies with 

 different soils and seasons; but best results are usually 

 obtained from two irrigations, the first about the time the 

 heads begin to show, and the second when the grain is filling. 

 The total depth of water applied usually does not exceed 1 

 foot, though more may be necessary in sections where the 

 rainfall is particularly deficient. 



HARVESTING THE CROP 



269. Cutting and Shocking. As the appearance of the 

 grain largely governs the market value of barley, it should 

 be carefully harvested and stored. The proper time to cut 

 this crop is when the grain is in the hard dough stage. If cut 

 earlier, the quality is injured by shrinking, while if cut later, 

 part of the crop will be lost from shattering. The usual 

 method of cutting is with the binder, though the header and 

 the combined harvester are sometimes used in the dry 

 sections of the Pacific and Rocky Mountain states. After 

 the bundles have dried out somewhat, they should be set up 

 in good shocks and carefully capped to protect as much of 

 the grain as possible from injury by bad weather. Long 

 shocks are somewhat preferable to round ones, as they allow 

 better circulation of air. After the grain is cured in the 

 shock, in ten days or two weeks after cutting, it should be 

 stacked until thrashing time. The harvesting of spring- 

 sown barley begins in Kansas and other states similarly 

 located about July 1, and is general in Wisconsin and Minne- 

 sota about August 1. 



