American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1875-09-04
Preserving Wheat in the Shock.

The great loss of wheat from germina-
ton during the unprecedented wet wealth
er of the past month brings the subject of
its preservation after it is cut into prom
inent notice; and although discussion
of the subject now may not help to save
the present crop, it may do some good in
the future. The only object in shocking
wheat is to preserve it from getting wet
during the drying process it must undergo
previous to being hauled into the barn or
put in stack. But the manner in which
much of the wheat is shocked would lead
us to conclude that the only object was to
get it into punches more convenient for
loading. If there was no danger of rain
this would be the object principally, and
the loose, spreading, uncouth punches we
so often see would answer the purpose.
Wheat properly shocked will stand a
great deal of rain, for a long time, too,
demonstrated the present harvest. An in
telligent farmer from the southern part of
the State, where they have suffered most
severely from wet weather, told us that
well-shocked grain he had examined was
not growing-except the caps-while the
adjoining field was ruined, perhaps, by
careless shocking.
Wheat is usually bound in -sheaves too
large to shock well, and a good shock
cannot be made with loosely-bound sheaves.
If the sheaves are made small and tightly
bound they shock better and keep out the
water better, and if they get wet they will
dry out more readily than large sheaves.
Every farmer almost haoacs how to shock
grain well enough, perhaps, but they do
not always do it well; very often this most
particular part of the work is intrusted to
boys or help, whose only object is to get it
done the easiest way.
Early-cut wheat will stand more expos
ure to wet weather than that cut later, for
termination cannot commence until the
grain is mature, and wet weather delays the
process OF maturation, SO that in many in
stances early-cut wheat, we'll shocked, has
passed through an extended wet spell be-
fore it matured and came out wholly un-
injured.
Termination requires a certain amount
of both heat and moisture at the same
time, and the efforts of the farmer should
be directed toward preventing a union OF
these conditions. When damp, foggy, hot
weather occurs, wheat will sprout in the
shock sometimes when it would not if
opened out At such times the air is sat
urated with moisture, and it seems to pen
citrate everywhere. Mildew will gather on
clothing, books, ETC., in illy-ventilated
rooms When such weather prevails, the
shocking of wheat fails to protect it from
the moisture, while it is favorable to the
production of heat, and the two conditions
necessary to terminating the grain are
present in the shock.
A very small portion of sprouted wheat
spoils the " grist,' as the starch, the most
important material for bread-making pur-
poses, is converted into sugar. Hence, the
caps and sprouted portions should be sep
arated as well as possible from the part moi
sprouted. In many cases the cap-sheaves
will be all that contain terminated grains
and these should be thrown off and gath
cred in by themselves. Sprouted wheat
makes good food for stock, and where the
quantity is nottoo great it can be threshed
with oats or rye which the farmer intends
to feed to his own animals. Ohio Farmer