382 FIELD CROPS FOR THE COTTON-BELT 



generally used on the Pacific coast and in the extreme 

 Northwest. 



409. When to harvest. — For the production of grain, 

 wheat should be harvested at that stage of maturity when 

 the grains are still sufficiently soft to be easily indented 

 with the thumb nail, but too hard to be easily crushed 

 between the fingers. At this stage most of the straw will 

 have tiirned yellow. According to Hunt, "the indications 

 are that if allowed to stand beyond the period of full 

 maturation, a- slight decrease in the actual substance of 

 the grain may take place, " as the seed continues to respire 

 and give off carbon dioxide, as explained by Deherain. 



410. Methods of handling as related to quality of 

 grain. — ^ East of the Mississippi River, most of the wheat 

 in the 'TJOtton-belt is either stacked in the open or stored 

 in large barns as soon as it becomes sufiiciently dry in 

 the shock. In Texas and Oklahoma and in fact through- 

 out most of the Great Plains regions a large proportion of 

 the wheat crop is thrashed direct from the shock. The 

 wheat is allowed to stand in the shock from three to six 

 weeks or longer, during which time it is often exposed to 

 heavy rainfall. In many cases the shocks are very care- 

 lessly constructed and entirely unprotected by cap-bundles. 

 Investigations have shown that the exposure of wheat 

 in the shock to the effect of alternate rain and hot sun 

 "causes the kernels to swell and the branny coats to loosen, 

 destroying the natural color or 'bloom' and giving them 

 what is termed a 'bleached' appearance." As the grade 

 that is given to wheat upon the terminal markets is deter- 

 mined largely by its appearance, condition and test weight 

 a bushel, that, portion of the crop that has been affected 

 by exposure as described above, must of necessity be 

 graded lower than wheat marketed in good condition. 



