The Democratic sentinel and Harrison County farmer. [volume] (Cadiz, Ohio) 1851-1852, 1851-07-16
AGRICULTURAL
Harvesting.

sideraton Of all cur farmers i % 10. .-a-.
TINE OF CUrNSo GRAIN.-In the fIst
place, your force should be ample to cut,
bind. and secure your crop; better, Raueh
sIetter, to have a superabsndance than to
have few hands. 1t is wise and true econ
,omy, upUh saeh 0ccasians. to be full handed,
as well to get the grain down in season, as
to be able to protect it against the csntingen-
scies Of weather.
Provide yourselves. timely, with full
supply Of the best implements, and be sure
that they are all in good order
In proriding your harvest stores, let them
be good and plenty, so that the harvesters
may suffer for nothing required to sustain
their muscular energies under the peculiarly
trying natures of their labors in the field.
Working as they do, under the influence of
she almost consuming rays of the sun, their
physical powers are most heavily taxed, and
unless they be sustained by refreshments
between meals, it matters not how willing
their hearts may be--it matters not what the
degree Of ambition by Which they may be
animated-alI win have to yield to the extra
calls made upon their strength, unless extra
means be taken to sustain their sinking ma
lures. r.....
Launches must be well timed; full time
allowed for dinner, and care taken in keep
ing the men furnished with molasses water
and ginger. a half-gallon Of molaGses, S
Gallons of water, and onefoarth pound of
GOOD strong ginger, will make pleasant and
safe beverage, mclasses, water and
;,.inger, to be well stirred. This drink is
.,alateable, refreshing and invigorating, may
.oe drank in safety, and should he preferred
20 cold water alone, which not unfrequently
causes death.
As to the tine Of exiting your Grain
Don't delay this until the grain is either ripe,
.r dead ripe; but cUtit at least seven or ten
days before it is either the one or the other.
4 very good general rule, as to the time of
..utGny, may be this: Cut when the straw,
3;lmediatay beneath the head, has turned
yellow, and become arid one or two inches
IN length Prom that moment the root sup
ply OF nourshment is cut off from the head.
And SO far as the roots are concerned, their
offices cease from this juncture. Grain cut
at this periodic its growth is plumper, thin
Gler skinned, more nutyitixe, makes better
and more -four, and weighs HEAVIER than when
permitted to get dead ripe; so that by cut
ling early, you will make more, and a better
article, while two pounds of the straw thus
cut, is worth three pounds that may be left
20 bleach and become dry in the ground.
There is another reason in favor of cutting
before the grain is ripe, or dead ripe; when
so cut it is not liable to shatter, and much OF
the grain is saved, that would otherwise be
1ost. There is still another and more potent
reason, which most emphatically calls for the
practice Of early cutting. The Rust, that
fell destroyer Of the wheat crop, generally
makes its appearance just before the grain
Fipcns; whenif it were cut some seven or
ten days in advance of the usual time Of cut
ting, this danger and consequent loss, would
be avoided Again, more time would be
allowed for harvesting; a consideration OF
much Importance.
The best and most enlightened farmers Of
England have for more than half century
been in the habit Of cutting wheat before
the period Of its being ripe In DR.. Rigby':
report we find the following:
Mr.. Coke (of Holkham, cuts down his
wheat very early, even when the ear and
stem are greenish, and the grain not hard
He says that the wheat thus early reapcd, is
always his best sample, and he gets 2s more
n quarter for it than for wheat cut in more
mature state.
AS an experienced farmer, the late Mr.
John Shiriff, recommended that all sorts Of
grain should be cut whenever the straw i'm
Gne!iately below the ears is SO dry, that on
twisting it no juice can be expressed; for
then the grain cannot improve, as the circu-
lationof the juices to the ear is stopped. 1t
matters not that the stock below is green.
Every hour that the grain stands uncut, af.
ter passing this stage, is attended with loss.
Professor Norton, who justly ranks among
the ablest agriculturast chemists, holds
these views. He says:
"The time Of cutting grain very sensibly
effects the proportion of fine -four and bran
yielded by samples Of it. Careful experi-
5ncnts hare shown, with regard TO wheat,
that when eat from ten to fourteen days be-
oreitis fuiy ripe, the grain not only weighs
heavier but measures more; it is positively
better in quality, producing larger proper
tion Of fine -four to the hushel When the
grain is ii the milk, there il but little woody
fibre; nearly every thing is starch, gluten
etc, with large per centage Of water i
cut ten or twelve days before full ripeness,
the proportion Of woody fbre is still small
but a. the grain ripens, the thickness Of the
skin rapidly increases, woody fibre being
formed at the expense Of the starch and su.
gar; these must ehEioHsly diminish in cor.
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