The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1915-05-22
SOUTHERN FARMERS
TAUGHT TO HARVEST
CEPAR TMENT OF AGRICULTURE
TELLS HOW TO HANDLE
GRAIN.

Washington, d. c., May 22.-The
Department of Agriculture has sent
out to its agents throughout the South
suggestions for the proper handling of
wheat and oats in this region. Where
it is expected that the entire crop is
to be fed on the farm and especially
in neighborhoods were threshing ma
chimes are not readily available, it is
recommended that both the wheat and
oats should be either cut for hay or
be fed in the straw.
If intended for hay both wheat and
oats should be cut when the grain
varies from the milk to the very
soft dough stage. At this time the
stalks will be mostly green or just
beginning to show signs of ripening
below. After cutting they should be
cured and handled exactly as any of
| the common grass hays. Under favor
able conditions The hay VIII then have
bright green color. If the cutting
| is delayed, however, until the grain is
in the full dough stage the hay will
| he dry, hard and bleached. and the
| feeding value diminished.
If it is intended to feed the gra n in
the straw, the cutting should be put
| off until the grain has reached the
hard dough stage and most of the
| stalks have taken on a yellow color.
| Under favorable weather conditions
the grain will cure sufficiently for
storage purposes in six or eight days
| if put up in carefully made round
| shocks of nine bundles each, includ-
| ing one cap bundle. Near the coast,
where frequent rains are to be expect
| Cl at this season, grain should be put
| in small shocks, containing only 6
| bundles, and left uncappcd SO that it
Will dry out quickly after the rain. 1t
| is unnecessary to ear down and spread
these small shocks after rains as it
sometimes is with larger ones. The
bundles, of course, should be shocked
Immediately in order to avoid the
possibility of loss from bad weather.
When the crop is crown not for feed
ing purposes but for sale or for seed
the cutting should be postponed still
further uatil the grain has passed the
hard dough stage. If it is permitted
to become dead ripe, however, the
quality is not so good and the loss from
shattering considerable. Where the
self-binder can not be used the cut
ting may be done little earlier than
otherwise. The grain, shocked in the
manner already mentioned, should be
left in the field until it is thoroughly
cured and then threshed without dc
lay. If no threshing machine is avail
able at once the grain should be eth
er stacked or stored in a barn during
the interval.
On small farms where storage space
is not abundant it will probably pay
the farmer to sell the grain as soon
as it is threshed With the exercise
of little cooperation he NAV arrange
with the neighbors to make UP a SUI.
ficient quantity to ship out as a car,
load. If this is done the freight car
can be loaded direct from the farm
ers' wagons. 1t is important to re-
member, however, that the car Should
be loaded without delay in order to
avoid demurrage charges. Wheat and
oats should not be loaded into the
same car unless it absolutely neceS-
sary. Mixed shipments of this kind
can not be handled to good advantage
in the market.
In the case of oats it is also posi- |
bic to dispose advantageously of the |
crop by shipping it in bags to grain
brokers or fed dealers in nearby |
towns. When this is done, however, |
1t is OF great Importance to have the |
oats cleaned and of uniform quality.
One hundred-pound bags are probably |
the most satisfactory. When these
are shipped into another state the Fed.
eral law requires that the net weight
IF grain in the bags be marked upon
hem. Each bag should contain the
quantity indicated by the marks on the
outside, that is if the bags are marked
100 pounds" they should contain, &C.
ual weight.