The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1876-08-03
Threshing and Cleaning Wheat.

Good clean wheat without cracked or
cut kernels in it will always sell more
readily and at better price, than wheat
foul with weeds, seeds and chaff and full
of cut or bruised grain.
Threshers are apt to manage in a way
to secure their own interests, rather than
that of the owner of the grain, by rushing
the work, so as to put through large
amount of grain and increase the average
profits for their labor. The farmer who
has raised good crop of plump wheat
has only himself to blame if he allows the
threshing machine to do the work in an
unworkmanlike manner. The most of the
threshing is done by men who own the
machines, and 60 about from farm to
farm threshing by the bushel so that the
more grain that is put through the ma
chine in day the greater will he the prof
its, and are apt to act on, this principle by
crOwding their machines to their greatest
capacity.
With careful management on the part
of the machine men, a great saving may
be made to the farmer, and satisfactory re-
suits to themselves; for, with the i'm
proved machinery, which has been
brought almost to perfection during the
last few years, the work may be done we'll
and rapidly enough to satisfy the ambi-
ton of the thresher, or the economizing
spirit of the farmer. As the machine
brings with it large gang of men and
horses to pay and feed, the farmer natur-
ally feels some as the owner of the ma
chine does, that he would like to get
through with the job as soon as possible.
So while the hurry may be on both sides,
the loss from the Sighted work, all comes
off of the farmer. Grain may be and
often is wasted in the cutting and hand
ling, but the greater waste is in the
single operation of threshing, often
without anybody's knowing it, or STOP
ping to think about it. Insist on saw
ing all the grain possible, and have
the work we'll done. Barring the danger
of fire, steam is the most economical pow
er for threshing purposes, giving more
steady speed to the machine, so if the
grain is fed through at an even rate, there
is no danger of the grain being blown
through with the chat, at the moments of
high speed. Besides, it is decided cruelty
to animals, to press horses into success
sion of full days work running the
threshing machine during midsummer,
while the days are long, the heat oppres-
sive and the flies inf1ict their severest pun
lSA"CAt. VlFC tlC uO1SOS I'LL tlC pIUVCC-
ton they can have from the flies, and the
machinery will be less liable to be broken
and the grain wasted by an irregular mo-
ton.
As the straw has now become a matter
of great importance, it should be put up
on the stack over the carrier. In this way
the chat and whatever grain which would
otherwise be wasted, by being left scat
tered upon the ground on account of its
fineness, the pitchers not being able to
put it upon the stack with the use of their
forks, would be saved.
Ordinarily we think it economy to put
the grain in the stack during sufficient
time for it to 60 through "sweat' be-
fore threshing, for no doubt it improves
the quality and condition of the grain to
some extent, will require less help on
threshing days, and the delay will be in
favor of the straw while it is not exposed
to the summer rains. Of course, when
the farmer is compelled to sell soon after
harvest, he had better thresh out of the
shock, and for no other. reason would we
advise threshing grain before or during
the ''dog days. Western Rural.