GRAIN CROPS MAY BE SAVED.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XI, Issue 651, 2 February 1859, Page 5

GRAIN CROPS MAY BE SAVED.

. JvJIOW 1 ;|;'V To the Editor of the Lyttelton Times. //Sib,—Having .in days gone by been something of a;fkrmer, things connected with tillage are apt to ta|te my attention in this fine country. Among other matters, I have been very much struck with the number ot fields on which the growing crops proceed from self sown seed ; in other words from 'grain which from some cause, be it neglect or ' oiher.wise, has been scattered upon the ground mii /, stead of being gathered into the stack or barn of the ; I shall trouble you with no comments upon /' the wastefulness of this sort of thing; lam I - aware that the most exuberant crop of corn with which this colony was blessed last year necessarily f closed procrastination in the harvesting ; and the \ gWat prevalance of windy weather will ever add | gieatly to the loss of overripe grain. ; .;Btit this constant windiness of the weather, toil gather with the exposed state of the fields, require ; tiii/more attention on the part of the farmer that his : c^ops shall not be too forward before he commences | hip harvesting business. In the annals of agricul- | ■ tvtite we find that unnecessary delay in cutting the I {ftfin crops—and indeed the same may be said of i gi&ss crops—has been .a, very usual fault in earlier f d|f S. It is a fault specially to be guarded against ) t ma. country like this, r where hands are and must | ciiQtinue to be scarce; . It should he remembered ,\ that wheat is the better for being cut early and fjb-ifeighs heavier. Neither that nor oats requires to hard in the kernel when cut, but more particularly the wheat. When the ear changes colour,' and no pressure or scraping wfth the thumb nail will elicit any moisture film the straw attached' immediately below, the wleat may be cut without damage; the straw may stpl have p green tint, upon it, but the kernel will ba] found plump and full, although not hard, but with no (what for want of a better name I may call) criaminess in it. . Wheat, cut in this state may remain in the field and be' subjected to considerable rain before it will receive any injury. When wheat jjsidead ripe, a little rain' injures it by causing a , roughness on the outside the kernel, and it very • quickly sprouts. ,If oats are left to stand till dead -• ripe they "shell out very quickly, and the straw j which, when got in well, is frequently useful for cattle in winter time, is quickly spoiled. Oats i perhaps will stand more exposure to the weather I than any crop grown here except beans. Barley ! for malting purposes ought to stand till fully ripe. | It does not easily shell out, but when quite ripe the r ear hangs down till it is parallel with the stem and then it is very liable to break off at the bend. But if i care be taken it may be cut before it suffers from this, and if the land be clear from weeds may be quickly carried and secured! Barley takes injury from wet more quickly than'any other grain. I have been induced to trouble you with these few lines f rom haying ljeard various persons express ■ i

opinions different from what I have stated. Perhaps as the subject is, worth consideration by the growers of crops, some may, when they read this, give tho matter some attention. I presume hot;to suppose that all that I say is perfectly to be agreed with, but my end will be perfectly attained if I at alllead those interested to think about the most efficient nieans of saving their corn from shelling and consequently wasting.

I am yours respectfully, A NEW-CHUM,