462 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
July 2 
few rows, put on some good fertilizer, give them extra 
cultivation and he might learn something by which 
to be governed in the future. If he has a little hen 
manure, try it on the surface, with plenty of cultiva¬ 
tion, as I think organic nitrogen is better at this point 
than nitrate of soda. dknnis fenn. 
Connecticut. 
NOTES ON THE WHEAT CROP. 
HOW FARMKR8 IIAN 1)1,K IT. 
North Dakota Items.—I have found that the most 
satisfactory and economical way to harvest a wheat 
crop is to hitch four horses to a seven-foot-cut twine 
binder, of some standard make, and cut 18 or 20 acres 
a day. It has not displaced hand labor in thiscountry, 
because hand labor was not in vogue when this 
country was opened up. We could not harvest a crop 
without the machine. We can’t get competent labor 
as it is. The machine only increases the capacity of 
labor. We find the best way to stack wheat is in 
round stacks, of about seven loads each ; but very 
little of it is done. When grain is stacked, we consider 
three weeks soon enough to go through the sweat. 
Most farmers sell the bulk of the crop when thrashed, 
to pay expenses. I have usually held when I could, 
but the times have been rare that the price was 
more in the Spring than in the Fall. It is good policy 
to hold the crop back, when the ruling price is below 
75 cents. w. s. F. 
Michigan City, N. D. 
Push It Along. —Some thrash from the shock, 
which is the cheaper way, provided it is a dry season, 
and a thrasher can be secured promptly ; otherwise 
stack the grain, and take no chances. Make round 
stacks with the lower part of the upper 
third projecting slightly, with the tops 
of the bundles higher than the butts 
so that, after settling there will be 
no danger of rain following the stalks 
into the stack. When properly con¬ 
structed and settled, such stacks will 
remain dry six months. Grain properly 
stacked can be thrashed at the con¬ 
venience of the owner. An average of 
prices will show that the best time to 
sell is immediately after harvest, or 
when the rush is over, unless there 
is a mammoth crop, in which case it 
should be sold immediately after har¬ 
vest. The most important things to do, 
are to be prompt and thorough, taking 
no chances trying to save a nickel; one 
of our men was not wrong even if it 
did lack sentiment when he explained 
the cause of delay in cutting some 
grain, by saying that he had been 
“fooling around three days with a 
funeral.” No man can tell the future 
of the market with any degree of 
accuracy, even though there were no 
manipulation, which there always is 
to some extent; therefore the ordi¬ 
nary farmer would better sell his crop 
promptly, and depend on the margin 
that is necessary to harvest 10 or 12 acres per day. If 
the weather is favorable, I usually commence stacking 
about 10 days after cutting, and put in ricks (two 
ricks in a set) with 20-foot foundations, which is a 
good size for convenience in stacking, thrashing, and 
keeping. If I intend to sell the crop at once, it must 
be thrashed within three days after stacking, or else 
it will be in “ the sweat”, and if it get in that condi¬ 
tion, it should stand, at least three weeks, before 
thrashing, so that it will be thoroughly dried out. I 
much prefer this way of thrashing, as the berry is 
much nicer, plumper, and will weigh heavier than if 
thrashed out of the shock, or just after stacking. The 
three things I consider the most important in wheat 
harvest are, first, have the wheat ripe; second, have 
the binder in perfect running order; third, have good 
men to shock and stack, and if the weather is favorable, 
the grain will be safely harvested. In regard to the 
holding of wheat, I am unprepared to say, for no one 
knows yet what the yield in this country will be, much 
less foreign countries, which will have a great deal to 
do with the price. o. A. M. 
Seba, Ind. 
THE HEREFORD CATTLE. 
At Fig. 207, is shown a typical Hereford, from a 
picture printed in the Mark Lane Express. This breed 
is an old-established one, it being more than a century 
since its founding in Hereford, England. Early 
in the present century, it was recognized as a valuable 
beef breed. Records of sales from 1700 to 1811 show 
that 20 oxen brought for beef an average of .£100 6s, 
or about $530 each. The Ilerefords and Short-horns 
were active rivals during those early days, and their 
1 
between cost and selling price for his profit. Farmers 
should not forget that holding grain for an advance 
is speculation, pure and simple, with the chances in 
favor of the other fellow. w. s. c. 
Winona, Minn. 
Shocking and Stacking. —The wheat should be 
shocked in round shocks, as soon as cut. Set 10 
bundles securely on the ground, then break down the 
butts of two more, crisscross them on the shock with 
the heads toward the prevailing winds, and press 
down firmly. Wheat shocked in this way will shed 
more hard rain than any long shock I ever saw. I 
prefer putting wheat in the barn, or stacking to 
thrash, to thrashing directly from the field. I think 
the round stack preferable. I begin in the center, and 
overlap each bundle about one-half, keep the center 
of stack the highest, increase the height of the center 
as the stack increases in height, and pitch on from all 
sides so the stack will settle evenly. If the stack is 
to stand any length of time, I top out with fresh cut 
swamp grass, beginning well down from the top, put 
on in layers, each layer overlapping the other; then 
when the first shower comes, take a hand rake and 
with the back, break down the butts all around and 
the stack will never wet in, if the work be properly 
done. I have seen stacks put up in this way, stand in 
excellent shape until December. We usually thrash 
as soon after harvest as convenient. I think I would 
sell as soon as I could get my wheat on the market. 
Hedgesville, N, Y. A. N. n. 
Methods in Indiana. —The only implement we use 
in cutting wheat is one of our modern binders, which 
will practically save all the grain, if properly mam 
aged. One man to operate the machine with three 
Worses, and another man to do the shocking, are all 
A TYPICAL ENGLISH HEREFORD HULL. Fig. 207. 
respective breeders have kept up the controversy ever 
since. But there is room for both breeds in this 
country. The Uerefords were first brought to this 
country in 1817, the first importation going to Ken¬ 
tucky, later importations to Massachusetts and New 
York. Still later, large numbers of the best animals 
to be had were imported for breeding up and founding 
herds in various parts of the country. Recent im¬ 
portations have not been so heavy. The Mark Lane 
Express complains because our breeders have insisted 
on buying the best animals for importing to build up 
their herds, but this would appear to be good business 
sense on their part. Recent sales of purebred Ilere- 
fords in this country, both native-bred and imported, 
show some very long prices. 
In color, the Herefoidis a red of varying shade, 
generally dark, with clear white face, white line of 
greater or less length, white belly, white brush and 
white feet. The horns are medium to long, white, 
waxy and generally turning outward, forward, and 
sometimes downward. In form, they are blocky, square 
built, with rather short legs, and all meat points full 
and rounded. The tail drops squarely from rumps 
even and high. The quarters are heavy, muscular 
and low down on the hocks ; the ribs well sprung, but 
rounded neatly to a long, deep barrel. The head and 
neck are both short and close fleshed. The whole 
makeup of the animal indicates strongly the marked 
characteristic of the breed—beef. They have found 
great favor on the cattle ranges of Texas. They are 
not remarkably good milkers, though they raise excel¬ 
lent calves. Mature bulls weigh from 1,900 to 2,300 
pounds, and cows from 1,200 to 1,(}00 pounds, with 
occasional animals exceeding these weights. They 
are classed with the largest of modern breeds, are 
hardy and prepotent to a remarkable degree. 
NO TBS FROM THE BEAN COUNTRY. 
THE CROP IN WESTERN NEW YORK. 
How It Is Grown and Handled. 
[editorial correspondence.] 
( Concluded.) 
“ How are the beans harvested ? ” 
“ The old-fashioned way is to pull them up by hand, 
two rows at a time, setting the plants in little bunches, 
roots upward, to cure. This is very hard work in¬ 
deed ; there is no other process upon the farm more 
tiring to the back than pulling beans. This is still 
done where the crop is not very large. The large 
growers, however, use a bean cutter ; a two-wheeled 
machine having two sharp, narrow blades that cut 
the beans off just below the surface, two rows at a 
time, drawing the two rows into one. They are then 
bunched by forks into little piles, to cure in the field 
before thrashing. By the time they are ready for 
harvesting, all the leaves are fallen, so that there is 
nothing except the bare vine and pods.” 
“Can the beans be thrashed by machinery ? ” 
“ Yes, the bean thrasher is built on the same plan 
as the ordinary grain thrasher, and the machines are 
now so improved that the farmer does not have to 
reclean the beans before delivering them to his pur¬ 
chaser. There is, however, quite a long process be¬ 
fore the beans are ready for the consumer, and special 
machinery is found in the warehouses of the bean 
districts.” 
“ What is the process of preparing the beans for 
market ? ” 
“ First they are put through a cleaner, a very in¬ 
genious machine. The best bean cleaners cost several 
hundred dollars each, and have a ca¬ 
pacity of 50 to 100 bushels per hour. 
They take out all the dust, dirt, and 
split beans, by an ingenious system of 
fans, sieves, and air suction, and also 
polish the remaining beans to a pearly 
luster.” 
“ Are they then ready for ship¬ 
ping ?” 
“ No; they must still be handpicked 
before barreling for shipment. In many 
bean houses in western New York, 
women are given steady employment 
for, at least, nine months in the year. 
They sit by a little duck-covered tray, 
on to which the beans run down a nar¬ 
row chute from above, and they re¬ 
move all discolored or otherwise de¬ 
fective beans which escape the machine 
cleaner. The women are paid by the 
pound for all the defective beans they 
pick out, and this system assures the 
dealer that every poor one will be re¬ 
moved. After the beans have been 
hand-picked, they are packed in large 
barrels holding from 320 to 350 pounds 
each, and then shipped in car-load lots. 
In spite of Boston’s preeminence as a 
bean center, New York is the greatest 
bean market of the world.” 
“ What are the favorite varieties in field culture ? ” 
“ The one variety most extensively cultivated is 
the Pea or Marrow Pea. It is a very small, white 
bean, and I believe that, in the United States, there 
are three or four acres of Pea beans grown to one 
acre of any other kind. This is the earliest of all field 
beans, maturing in from 60 to 70 days, under favor¬ 
able conditions. It has a small running vine, is very 
healthy, and produces the heaviest crop of any variety. 
On good soil, with ordinary culture, it has yielded as 
high as 40 bushels an acre.” 
“ What variety ranks next to the Pea in popularity ?” 
“ The Marrow, which is a late variety, requiring 
from 10 to 14 days longer than the Pea before mature. 
The growth is ranker and the foliage coarser than the 
Pea, but the yield on most soils is from five to ten 
bushels per acre less than Pea or Medium. The 
Medium ranks between Pea and Marrow in size, and 
also in time of ripening.” 
“ What can you tell us of the Red Kidney bean, of 
which we are told there is such a largely increased 
acreage ?” 
“The Red Kidney is a large, red bean, grown en¬ 
tirely for export. Very few of these beans are con¬ 
sumed in America, except by foreigners, who have 
become accustomed to them in their native countries. 
'The larger part of the Red Kidneys raised are sent to 
Cuba, the West Indies, Central and South America, 
appearing as ‘ frijoles’, which form such a prominent 
part of the Mexican bill of fare.” 
“ How does the New York bean crop this season 
compare with that of last year ? ’’ 
“As a result of observations made in May and 
June, during which period I have been driving through 
the bean-growing section of western New York, I 
would say that the acreage in beans, as compared 
