Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-05-29
MIR. Lapcy, in commenting on the expert
1nent In the Minneannlis T.iLnuc saws.

declines in precisely the same way as the
quantity. The grain of the first cutting was
miserably shrunken, resembling, it was fire.
| quently remarked at the fairs, that of the
crop of 1873 in the southwestern portion of
the State. That of the second cutting showed
vast improvement That of the third some
| improvement over the second, but not SO
much as in the preceding case. The grain of
| the fourth cutting was by few pronounced
the best, but the majority readily agreed on
| the fifth. The grain of the sixth cutting had
lost its bright color-was bleached The con-
dition termed ripe was this: most of the
| stems, or straws, had turned, not dead white,
but rich, lively yellow Some were still
somewhat green. The berry, when pressed
between the soft parts of the thumb and fin
ger, would yield, but nothing liquid or
doughty could be pressed out.
Thus it will be seen that there was loss of
two bushels and half to the acre by cutting
the grain in the advanced dough, and of one
bushel and half to the acre by allowing it
to pass the ripe stage and become dead ripe
This is the loss in grain yielding only fourteen
bushels to the acre, and in the comparatively
damp climate of Minnesota. On grain
yielding twenty-one bushels to the acre in the
same climate, the loss, it will be seen, would
have been two and quarter bushels to the
acre, by allowing it TO stand till dead ripe 1t
is also evident that in our dry climate the loss
would naturally be much greater, as the eyap-
Grating force of the air and sun are much /
greater than where this experiment was made.
But allowing the loss to be the same from the
same cause, and let US see what the farmers
of California may lose this year by allowing
the present crop to stand in the field till
it becomes dead ripe in order that we
may cut it with the header without risk
1t is estimated that the number Of acres in
wheat this year in the State is about 8, co.,
600. For the purposes of this calculation let
us assume that the average yield will be q
bushels to the acre, or 63, 600, 900 bushels if
cut at that stage of ripeness when it viii rep
resent the greatest weight and value. The
shrinkage per acre in consequence of being
allowed to pass this stage and become dead
ripe being represented as above by q bush
els to the acre, the whole loss by shrinkage
would be 6,750,000 bushels At a dollar
bushel Sc, $50, 600. This represents the loss
in weight alone, but we have seen that the
loss in quality is also very great. Some of
our best millers estimate the latter at from )
| to 10 per cent, Assuming it to be but $ per
cent and we have an additional loss of $780,
| 500, making the aggregate loss $685., 800.
Again, while we congratulate ourselves as
farmers that we are comparatively free from
those terrible rain-storms that frequently
take place in the Atlantic States and other
parts of the world during harvest time,
in consequence Of which the entire wheat
crop of the country is greatly damaged and
much of it absolutely destroyed; still we
are subject to northers at this time Of the
year, which, when they come while the wheat
is fully ripe aud standing uncut in the field,
| frequently shell out and waste very large
percentage of it. This latter fact alone has
induced many of our largest wheat farmers
OF late years to begin the cutting of their
wheat with self binding reapers as soon as it
is ripe enough to do so, and only use the
header when the grain becomes morefully ripe.
But there is another consideration in cOnnec.
ton with this subject We refer to the
greater draft upon the soil, as result of al
lowing the grain to stand tiil dead ripe 1t IS
well known to all farmers that al growing
crops draw more heavily both or the moisture
and fertilizing properties of the soil during
the last stages of ripening. Since it has been
proven that it is an actual damage to the
wheat to allow it to go through this stage
while standing connected with the soil, and it
is known that the soil itself is greatly defer
tilted by the process, we would sugges!
whether California farmers are not making a
serious mistake in their time and mode of mar.
vesting? Does it pay to use the header as q
harvesting machine? Are we not unnecessar-
lily drawing the fertility from our SOIL while
at The same time we are deducting from the
weight and quality the money and fpll vAlue
of our wheat?