HARVESTING.

Clutha Leader, Volume II, Issue 81, 27 January 1876, Page 7

HARVESTING.

Mr W.. Anderson /concluded a paper ; read by him at a recent. meeting of the WarrnambooljPar.mers , Club with the.! following useful and seasonable hints on harvesting : — ; " A few words about harvest and I. have done. A fatal mistake is often made with the wheat-crop in allowing it to become ripe before it is cut. The farmer who allows his wheat to become fairly npe before he begins cutting leaves himself at the mercy of his employees and the weather. Wheat is quite fit for cutting when it is a greenish yellow color, and is too far gone when it begins to whiten. Our changeable climate makes it imperative that the farmer should take time ; by the forelock, as if. two or ; three hot winds occur, much loss will be sustained before the wheat can be cut and carted. If attacked by rust, the sooner it is cut the better. ' Much^grain is lost for want of a few bundles of grass with which to cover the top of the stack. A large rick cloth is very useful, and the farmer may very soon lose the price of one if he gets wefc into the stack. In stack building' great, care should be exercised to keep the heart of the stack well full, and the heads of the outer row of sheaves higher than their butts, ortbey will act as conductors to convey the water to the heart of the stack, instead of throwing if-frpm it. If the heads of the sheaves be kept well up, and a good steep roof on the stacks,, they will receive little injury, although a pretty heavy rainfall should occur. Many have the impression that wheat cannot be too dry when it is stacked, and will continue to cart.it although fierce hot winds are blowing, and the thermometer is 100 in the shade-; while a farmer should not lose a moment in getting his wheat in the stack when it is fit. If he intend to thrash it. at once it is better, not to cart it in hot winds, or even in the middle of a very hot day, although the wind is not from the north, because he will in the first place have considerable waste in the carting and stacking, have many broken sheaves in his stack, and if thrashed out at once it will be impossible to do so without cracking the grain. Wheat gets in much better condition if allowed to stand in the stack some time ere it is thrashed. Barley cannot be too dry when stacked, as it will dress better the drier it is. Aiuch mischief is often . done by rushing the grain into the stack before it is fit, as if the butts of sheaves have much of green stuff in them, or the corn tied when damp, if carted too soon they are sure to heat ; the grain will he damaged, and the straw spoiled. Some, years ago when straw was considered of little value,the higher the stubble was left the better the farmer liked it, The attempt to introduce the reaping-machine was a failure ; now straw has* become valuablearid labor not too plentiful, it* has-been successfully introduced, and it would take something to drive it out; hut even with it the farmer should not l_t his work drive him, but' have all his : odd jobs done up before the grain is ripe, begin cutting as soon as possible, and not lose a moment until finished." A Monster Bullock. — They have a bullock up Wanganui way, which weighs the enormous weight of two tons. The proprietors, Mussrs M'Coy and Beard, have given him the appropriate name of " Prodigious," and intend exhibiting him rirst in New Zealand, and afterwards in Australia and England. VIGNICULTURK IN" VICTORIA. — The growing magnitude of the wine-pro-ducing interest of the Albury district, Victoria, is now outstripping ordinary bounds. During the last year 1250 acres of vines were under cultivation, | and, speaking within bounds, the yield ! of wine reached 375,000 gallons. Every , year adds to the acreage of the vineyards, and a correlative increase in the wines. The " Border Post " says : — The time has come when the industry cannot be properly carried on with advantage without the aid of increased capital.- .--:.,.. • • . . i KnW AT ugh A Shbkp Eat 3. — A farmer made an expemmerit— He took a sheep that weighed about 100 pounds, put it in a nen, and after it had become wonted, weighed all its food, and found that three .pbunds'per day of fodder and grain was all he could make, 'the sheep eat The farmer had verrified a rule well known to the much despised " book farmers," and arrived at ' by many and careful experiments, that about' three pounds of good food per day for each hundred weight of live stock is a fattening allowance. For illustration, a' sheep weighing one hundred pounds requires three hounds" of food per day. and ,a steer weighing one; thousand needs, thirty poundsy ■ These rules are approximately correct, being Varied somewhat; by quality of food and stock. The -farmer knowing the weight: of his feed and that, of his stock, by applying these rules can guess closely as to whether .he has food ,^ enough for his stock. ' -..-.-.