Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-01-03

ment in the Minneapolis Tribune, says:
The appearance of the grain advances and
declines in precisely the same way as the
quantity. The grain of the first cutting was
mlserably shrunken, resembling, it was fire.
quently remarked at the fairs that of the
crop of 1878 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 a few pro-
nounced the best, but the majority readily
agreed on thes Fifth. The grain of the sixth
cutting had lost its bright color = was
bleached. The condition 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 finger 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 yield
ing 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. It
is also evident that in our dry climate TIE
evaporating 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, let
us see what California farmers lost on
their wheat crop of 1878. The number of acres
sown that year were 2, 40. 600 and the total
yield was Al, $4,000 bushels, or about q
bushels to the acre. Now, assuming that our
crop stood in the field till it was dead ripe
that year, as is the custom with us in order
that it may be cut with a header, and heaped
up in the heads or thrashed and sacked i'm
mediately-the loss to the farmers on that
one crop in weight was 5,557, 500 bushels.
At dollar bushel, S., 557, 500 This is 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 least
from 5 to 10 percent. Now we present these
facts and considerations to the farmers of
this State thus early in the year, that they
may study the subject well before the crop
they are just now planting is nearly
ready for harvesting. But there is another
consideration in connection with this subject.
We rafor to the
GREATER DRAFT UPON THE SOIL,
As result of allowing the grain to stand till
dead-ripe. 1t is well known to all farmers
that all growing crops draw more heavily
both on the moisture and fertilizing proper.
ties of the soil during the last stages of ripen-
ing 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 it.
self is greatly defertilized by the process, we
would suggest whether California farmers
are not making a serious mistake in their
time and mode of harvesting? Does it pay
to use the header as harvesting machine
Are we not unnecessarily drawing the fer
tility from our soil, while at the same time
we are deducting from the weight and quality,
the money and full value of cur wheat?