WHEN THE SPOUTS RUN GOLD.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 90, 16 April 1913, Page 8

WHEN THE SPOUTS RUN GOLD.

ABOUT GRAIX THRESHING.

(By BUCK TUSKAX.) Xow that tlie golden grain has been safely gathered into stacks., our attention is turned to the next operation in the winning of foodstuffs for men and animals, namely, that of threshing. There should, however, be a certain interval between stacking and threshing, unless the latter operation is undertaken almost as soon as stacking is finished. As a rule there is a certain amount of moisture in the straw and grain at the time of stacking. It may be so little as to foe scarcely noticeable, but it may be quite sufficient to cause a certain amount of heating to take place. The stuff "sweats" as we farmers say, and until this sweating process has passed oil it is not advisable to proceed with the threshing. .4s 1 have said, threshing may be done as soon .as stack building is completed, before the sweating has time to begin; but as a general rule the grain improves in quality and condition by passing through this process. Stook threshing can be performed safely and •well if the grain is in proper condition; that is, if it is thoroughly dry and hard. But the stuff must be left standing in the stook for a longer time when threshing is going to be done out of the stook than when the sheaves are first of all to be stacked and then threshed. As a general rule stacks should be allowed to stand for a month or six weeks before threshing, even if the stuff has been put away in fairly good condition. ]f, on the other hand, the sheaves have been put into stack while the straw contains a good deal of moisture, or the grain is rough, the stacks may have to stand several months, and sometimes into the spring. In a' catchy season, when it is almost impossible to get grain into good stacking condition, it is often put into stack and allowed to stand over the winter. If it has not been stacked in an absolutely wet condition it will como right, if there is no sap present. One does not need to be long at the game of grain growing to know when sheaves will rot in the stack or keep through the winter, with a good prospect of coming out right some months later. In these days of labour difficulties, farmers should be very careful to put their stacks in groups of not less than fowo, and to place them in accessible positions. Mill owners and men would just as soon have stacks placed in twos or in threes or fours, because they can set with more prospect of a fair wind between two than among a greater number of stacks. Those who have worked with mills know how important it itj to have a favourable wind to carry the dust away from the end of the mill where the grain is run down the spouts into thn 'bags. A head wind is difficult to wo°k in, and may help very materially to make a bad or indifferent sample. Stacks should not be too small. Four hundred bushels should be the minimum for a set, and, as T have said, the sets should be put in good places. Millawners do not make a fortune. They have to own an expensive plant at considerable cost; the work for the men is not of the most agreeable kind, and things should Ibe made as easy and as good for them as possible. Xo wonder there are ructions, particularly in a damp season, when hours have to 'bo spent in wire-roping from one set to another, often sample stacks, badly placed, and threshing from a hundred to a hundred and fifty bushels each. Before the mill appears on the scene sufficient bags, coal, and twine should have been carted on to the spot toy the farmer. A 'hale of eornsacks may be left out in the paddock for a long time, provided that it is kept of! the ground, and is set on its end. The other end will then be upwards, and it will liefound to turn any quantity of rain, without any shelter beyond the covering thai is put round the bale in the factory. 11 the 'bale is put on its side, the rain may run down between the sacks and wet them. W«t sacks are very difficult to eewj-and if you mould keep the bag,

sewer in a good temper you must keep both bags and twine in good order for him. With regard to coal, that must 'be supplied according to the mill owners wishes as regards kind and quantity, and is usually paid for by him. As a general rule a hundredweight of coal will thresh a hundred bushels of wheat. A good six-yard stack of -wheat, well sprung and running up to a fair height, should turn out at least 250 bushels, and may go. in decent stuff, up to .100 , bushels. Oats should go at say a hunI drcd bushels more, but a great deal depends upon the bulk of straw. I have . known live-yard stacks of Carton oats, short, extremely well headed, and well filled stuff, to run 500 bushels to the stack. The piles of grain were almost as large as the straw- stacks, unit was difficult to feed the mill slowly ; enough. i If the grain is dry and in good order it may be put through fairly fast. The combine will usually knock it out pretty clean, if the condition of the stuff is good, but care must be taken that it is not being put through too fast to permit the mill to dress the grain properly. The drum should bo set close enough to the concave to knock the grain out without breaking up or cracking the grain. ! As a general rule, a mill that is fed j steadily, even though the pace is fairly i fast, will do better work than when she ; is allowed to run alternately full and empty. Some whe.-ts are almost impossible to thresh clean out of the straw. Solid straw Tuscan is one of these. A ; pickle or two left in the straw now and . again is better than injuring the grain tiirough the drum being set too closely. An experienced mill-owner or driver will soon tell whether his mill is doing us best for the farmer, all things being taken into consideration. There should be no attempt to sacrifice good, clean threshing and dressing to speed, on the one hand, nor should there, on the other hand, be any attempt to stop the stuff from going through as fast as the null will carry it, provided that a good job is being made. Where horses, pigs, and fowls have to be fed it is n good plan to allow a good many seconds, both in wheat and oats, | to be removed. Good seconds make good • feed for consumption on the farm, and the firsts are all the bettor if the screen is opened fairly well. In any case good seconds sell well, particularly for pig and fowl feed. The farmer should watch that good wheat is not being blown away in Hie chaff, and ho should sec that the riddles are not allowed to run over. If tlic stuff is a little damp this may easily occur. On the other hand, there should be sufficient blast on to remove , all chaff and cavings, as well as " white : heads," sprouted grain, and immature grain. ; There should be every care taken to ' see that a sufficiency of bedding is given to the sacks of grain. An old horse should be kept handy for dragging round straw to the bag carrier, so that ho may have no excuse for neglecting to put a good bedding down for the bags. It is not always easy, even when this is done, to get the bag carrier to put down a deep bedding, because straw is not the easiest thing to walk through when carrying a bag of grain, even though it does not weigh mcflre than 2001b. If a , horse and dray is available, it may be used in carting straw for bed and cover for the grain sacks. A heap of sacks is easily covered from a dray. Jn covering there should be as much straw as possible left banging down over the sides of the stack of grain to prevent the rain from beating in on the bags in a wind. The best way to avoid this occurring is, however, to tie up bundles of straw, placing them in a ..tanding position against the stack ot bags before covering. If this is done, and a good quantity of straw placed on top. the bags will keep as safely there ■is in a grain store. Tbe edges of the bedding, where it protrudes from'underneath the sacks, should be cut off with '. hay knife or a sharp spade, to prevent .lie water from running down the straw md underneath the bags. A trench .liould then be dug round the. pile to drain any water away that might collect, and tbe bags- .will be safe, pro-

vided that wind does not blow off th<? covering. This may bo provided against. by putting tics lengthwise and Heroes the heap, with weights attached. Old bags with about four spadefuls of earth in them make good weights. Then", should bo a cross tie for each tier ot liugs. The bags should not be stacked too wide, as they take a lot of covering. Tiers of 20 in full-sized sacks arc large enough; tiers of 25 are permissible ill smaller-sized sacks. Mill men should be made to fill in all holes made in setting the mill, and in making a " bag hole." The farmer, however, must attend to any cutting up on the paddocks caused by the engine in shifting the plant. The owner of' the grain should, if possible, bo at hand while threshing is going on. He can then supervise matters and get his grain turned out to his own liking. The mill-owner, on his part, can refer to the owner in any case of doubt, and mutual satisfaction.can thus be the more easily obtained. Most mill-owners like to give a good job, and like to leave a farmer satisfied with the way in which his grain has been threshed aiid stacked. The more he can do in that way the bigger will be his run, and the more easily will he get the larger graingrowers to patronise him.