Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1861-06-21
Cutting and Curing Grain.

Experiments have pretty well settled III,
fact that wheat should he cut while the grain
is in the s,ote called loagisy The conc!u.
sion was, indeed. reached several years since II
regard TO wheat, but it has, by the experiment
of Foelcker. been clearly shown to be applica
| bic TO cats; aud it is aso known 10 be equally
applicable to Indian corn. At first, it was
! feared by some that there would be u great
Shrinkage of grain. cut in this stage, which
would amount to absolute loss. Il is proved
however, that the sap Of the Btumps of the
straw is sufficient to perfect the grSin and
| that the grain, under such circumstances even
possesses some valuable properties wAch it
has not when IT renaius uncut till dead ripe
Mr.. Coleman states that he found by many
! inquiries in England that the best rules for
harvesting is not when the stalks below the
head have changed color, and the circulation
has consequently ceased, but when the grain,
though it has ceased TO yield any milk upon
the pressure, is yet s1ft." The advantages Of
cutting at this stage are briefly given as fol-
lows !" " heat cut early affords more grain,
yields less bran, makes better flour, wastes
less in cleaning, gives better straw, and ena-
bles the farmer to work more cisurely"
C. w Johnson, in the Farmers Encyco-
pedia, observes: Grain, if not reaped Until
the straw is wholly yellow, will he more than
ripe, as The car, generally, except in the late
seasons, ripens before the entire Of tina straw
and IT is observable that the first reaped usu-
ally affords the heaviest and fairest sample
The indications OF ripencss in the wheat are
few and simple. When the straw exhibits q
origh. golden colsr, from the bottom OF the
stem nearly 10 he ear, or when the ear be,
gins 10 bend gently, the grain may be cut
Bur as the whole crop will not be equally ripe
at the same time, if on walking through the
ield and selecting the grrenest heads, the ker-
nels can be separated from the chsff when rub
bed through the hands, it is a sure sign that
the grain is then out of its milky state, and
may be reaped with safety for, although the
straw may be green to some distance down
ward from the ear, yet if it be quite yellow
from the bottom upward, the grain then
wants no further nOurishment from the earth,
and, if properly harvested, will not shrink
These tokens will be found to sufficiently indi-
cate the ripeness of wheat, barley, and oats
but that Of rye arises from the straw loosing
some of its golden hue, and becoming paler y
which have been reported on this subject, are
those Of Mr.. Hannah, in the 18th and 18th |
volumes of the Quarterly Journal of Agricul- /
lure. The trials were made unde- his own d. |
rection and with great care He cut samples |
Of wheat at five different times No 8, which |
was cut two weeks before fally ripe, was su-
per.or to the other lots giving more psF
bushel than No. 5, (cut when fully ripc,) by |
81 pounds of -four, and gain Of about fl
teen per cent. on the -four Of equal measure Of
grain loo pounds o! heat of No. 5 made
so pounds Of flour, while 90 pounds Of No
yielding 72-showing an average Of 8 per
ceat. in favor of No. 3. In grinding, it was
found that No. ground the worst. There
we're in Nc. a greater quantity Of hinty
particles which would not pass the bolt, than
in any Of the other lots. The bran from No.
> was also much thicker aud heavier than
that Of No 3.
Mr. Hannah concludes, therefore, that in
cutting wheat two weeks before it is fully ripe,
there is a gain OF fifteen per cent. Of -four up
on equal measure, gain Of fourteen per cent.
in the weight Of straw, and gain of Is Cd
sterling in the value of every quarter (56O.bs.)
Of wheat Many trials have been made l.,
his country in cutting wheat at various
stages, and the results agree generally, with
those above given.
But when grain is cut before it is ripe it is
thnt ii should undergo aproces5 0!
curing, before it can be safely stored in barn
or the STACK. Hence it is usual 20 place the
.heaves in shock for several days, according to
The state Of the weather, or the degree cf
moisture in the straw But it sometimes
happens that loss is oecasioled, moFs OF less
BY the sprouting Of the grain while it stands
n the shock-especially i'll warm shOwery, or
lamp wcathcr.-Albany Cm.