THE SMALL GRAINS 
223 
Harvesting.—The grain should be cut while in the 
hard dough stage. It is a good plan to have the oats 
well shocked immediately after cutting. Thrashing 
should not be delayed longer than necessary, but the 
oats should go through a sweat in the shock. This will 
avoid sweating or burning in the bin. 
Marketing the oat crop involves about the same 
problems as the corn crop; the more we feed on the 
Fig. 163.—Oats in the shock, showing the proper bracing and capping. 
farm, the more profit each bushel will represent. Oats 
ground with corn provide one of the best grain feeds 
obtainable for raising pigs or calves. It is very im¬ 
portant to save enough oats to feed the work horses 
during the working season and winter. 
Wheat.—The great source of bread for Americans is 
wheat. The United States produces more wheat than 
any other country in the world. Those states from 
