CHAPTER XXXI.
ON HARVESTING CORN.
A knowledge of when corn is in the best condition to be harvested is a matter of great importance; and hence some observations upon this subject may fitly conclude this part of our work.
Not to enter too deeply into chemical matters, we may state, at least as a probable general conclusion, that there is a period in the growth of grain and pulse crops before they are ripe, in which all the feeding qualities will be found diffused in the several plants; a little later, and the feeding matters will be found more particularly concentrated in the seed. Now, if oats, peas, and beans, be cut in this “green” state, they make either a fresh food, or can be dried into hay, which, when cut into chaff, is found to be an excellent feeding material; and as such crops can be quickly cleared and cheaply employed, there is no doubt but that they will henceforward be more generally used in this way than formerly.
But, again, in ripening of wheat there would appear to be a point in its progress short of “dead ripe,” in which every quality is fully stored in the seed; and, after this period, the seed-covering becomes thicker, and makes more bran in proportion to flour: facts made out from the following results of experiments of samples in three different states:—
TABLE OF THE RESULTS OF EXPERIMENTS WITH WHEAT.
Sample 1.—Wheat gathered when the grain was sweet, and almost milky. The stalks green. Date, July 25th, 1856.
Sample 2.—Wheat from the same field, gathered when in the state of hardening grain. The stalk just yellowed all the way down. August 2nd.
Sample 3.—Wheat from the same field, gathered when what is termed “dead ripe,” having been, in fact, left longer than it otherwise would, for want of hands. August 18th.