1864. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



221 



HARVESTING GRAIN". 



As the season for harvesting the cereal grains is 

 near at hand, it is well to give the subject some 

 consideration as to when and how the work may 

 be best performed. The subject is too important 

 to be passed over indifferently, when the price of 

 grain is more than double what it has ordinarily 

 been for many years past. A rapidly increasing 

 population, and an immense waste by war, has 

 created an unusual demand, and one which will 

 probably not be materially lessened for a consid- 

 erable time to come. Whatever, therefore, will 

 tend to swell the aggregate amount, and secure it 

 in the best possible condition for the use of both 

 man and beast, is worthy of earnest inquiry and 

 investigation. 



The kind of soil and its preparation, and ma- 

 nuring and seeding, have long been matters of ex- 

 periment and inquiry, but the effect of earlier or 

 later harvesting the crop, upon the quantity and 

 quality of the product, has received but little 

 thought by a large proportion of our farmers. 



Our present inquiry is, when is the best time to 

 cut wheat, rye and barley in order to secure the 

 largest weight of grain, and the best quality of 

 flour? This is one of the many questions which 

 have not yet been thoroughly investigated and 

 solved by individuals, or by any public institution 

 of our country. When our agricultural college is 

 established, we may expect that this, and many 

 other questions of a kindred nature, will receive 

 attention and be satisfactorily answered. Were 

 this faithfully done, and the resulting facts spread 

 before the husbandmen of the country, we believe 

 the gain, in five years, would be more than the 

 whole cost of the college, land and all. 



There are certain signs of maturity in grain 

 plants, which are, of course, regarded by all, but 

 some are governed by one and some by another, 

 so that little approach is made to any well settled 

 and governing rule. The motive of convenience 

 governs too many. As a general thing, farmers 

 should control their work, and not allow the work 

 to control them : that is, the plowing, hoeing, hay- 

 ing, and everything else, should be kept up square 

 with the season, and then they will be able to se- 

 lect and improve the precise time when any work 

 should be done. It would be almost as judicious, 

 for instance, to plant corn in October, expecting 

 a crop, as to prune an apple tree in April or May 

 — and yet thousands of farmers do prune, because 

 they say it is more convenient than at any other 

 time. This is the leading reason why we have 

 so many decaying and short-lived orchards. 



We have sufficiently tested the matter of cutting 

 grain to be satisfied that the opinions we quote be- 

 low are correct and entirely reliable, and we com- 

 mend them to the careful consideration of all who 



have grain to harvest. The opinions expressed in 

 the following paragraphs are by Mr. Anderson, 

 for some time editor of the Farmer's Journal, pub- 

 lished at Montreal. He says that: 



Grass, while still green, contains a large amount 

 of starch, gum and sugar. The sugar is perceived 

 in the sweetish taste of the juice ; the starch and 

 gum, being nearly tasteless, are not so readily 

 perceived. The principal nourishing ingredients 

 in all kinds of food are starch, gum, sugar, and 

 some nitrogenous compound. But the starch, gum 

 and sugar are mainly changed into hard, indigest- 

 ible woody fibre when grass fully matures. If the 

 ripening process be arrested eight or ten days be- 

 fore its completion, and the plant be dried rapidly, 

 double and treble the amount of starch, gum and 

 sugar will be secured. The same reasoning holds 

 true of all kinds of grain. Every one is familiar 

 with the sweet taste of green corn, wheat in the 

 milk, etc. When the growth is completed, cut 

 these crops and you save a considerable quantity 

 of rich nutriment which would otherwise be 

 changed to the woody fibre of the outer shell. 

 The only point to be looked to is to wait until the 

 accumulation of juices is completed, and then be- 

 gin the harvesting at once. The only exception 

 to this rule is with crops designed solely for seed ; 

 these may well be left to the natural full ripening 

 upon the stalk, especially when the seed is to be 

 kept long. 



The proper time for cutting grasses is at the 

 moment the seed is set or immediately after the 

 flowering is over. Clover should be cut as soon 

 as in full bloom. 



A large number of experiments on wheat and 

 other grains indicate that the proper time for har- 

 vesting is when the kernel is fully formed, but 

 still soft enough to yield to a moderate pressure 

 between the thumb nails. 



This reasoning is undoubtedly correct, not only 

 because it is founded on true physiological prin- 

 ciples, but also because it is confirmed by the ex- 

 perience of those who have put the matter to 

 practical test. 



In his agricultural tour through England, our 

 Mr. Colman states that he found by many inquir- 

 ies that "the best rule for harvesting is not when 

 the stalk below the head has changed color, and 

 circulations have consequently ceased, but when 

 grain, though it has ceased to yield milk upon 

 pressure, is yet soft." The advantages of cutting 

 at this stage are given as follows : "Wheat cut 

 early affords more grain, yields less bran, makes a 

 better flour, wastes less in harvesting, gives better 

 straw, and enables the farmer to do more work 

 leisurely." 



This precisely accords with the opinions we have 

 gained in our own operations in harvesting grain. 

 Perhaps few persons have given the subject more 

 careful investigation than Mr. C. W. Johnson. 

 He states, in the Farmers' 1 Encyclopaedia, that 



"Grain, if not reaped until the straw is wholly 

 yellow, will be more than ripe, as the ear, gener- 

 ally, except in the late seasons, ripens before the 

 entire of the straw, and it is observable that the 



