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When To Cut Wheat

When To Cut Wheat image
Parent Issue
Day
21
Month
June
Year
1872
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

The usual practica among íarraers i tó -Iet" -wceaf bofoie it is cut, until the 8trav is cntirely changed in color from green to yellow, and the grain has bcome hard and nearly or quite dry. Numerous experimenta have been made In this country, but moro particularly u BSigiand, to determine at' what' poriod of ripeness it is best to cut wheat, having in view the groatest yield of grain and the best quality. It is well known to thoso who havo invostigatcd the subject, Öwt the vi-peniug of the sesd consista 011tiifcly of cifeniical processes, which we cannot here attempt to explain, that are of iuiportance to be considerad in order to make the most of the erop after it has boon grown. The immature grain of wheat, in its early atage, is found to be Sileá with a milky fluid, which gradually changos in cocsistence froni this milky state to one more firm and solid. Th?se experiments have been institutod to determine with acuracy at what pcriod of this chango the grain should be harvested to Becuro the groatest advantagos. Thf tinanimous opinión appears to be, that if grain is cut soon after the straw hasturned yellow below the head, while the lower part of the stem is still green and the seed yet remains in a soft and doughy state, ths grain will weigh more to the bushei and yield a greater amount from a given spuce of ground ; that more and better flour is made ftvm, and where the straw is to bo fed to stock, it is relished better and is more nutritious than if the grain was allowed to stand until it became f uil y ripe. These experiments havo been so frequently made and witli such uniform results, that we feel unwilling to let tho coming harvest pass without again reininding our readers of the fact. A very careful series of experiments of this character were made some ycars ago in Yorkshire, EngKnd., by -Mr. John Hannam, and he sums up the loss by shelling, and in the wciyrht and quality of the grain through letting it stand until fully ripe - as equal to $6 per acre - a sum, or even half of it, not to be lost sight of by the farmer.-

Article

Subjects
Old News
Michigan Argus