HARVESTING OF WHEAT.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20037, 19 September 1930, Page 3

HARVESTING OF WHEAT.

\ STOOK AND; ST"ACR THRESHED^USE OF HEADER : MACHINES.: .• Under proper harvesting conditions wheat threshed from the stook is equal; ■to wheat threshed, from" the,stack 1 in flour yield and baking quality. ' This is the conclusion;, which the! officers, of the Wheat Research ■ Institute have come to after tests extending over two years. • These'. placed before yesterday's meeting : of the committee of : the Institute. '/'' -- : ; "-''■ ; According to the report. three samples on which tests had been.; conducted'this "year! again showed that Pearl was the. highest in the yield of flour, with Tiis- ; can last. The baking data-showed the stack-threshed Tuiean at an advantage over the stook-threshedi' ..None.of the samples, however,: ..was particularly good. ■'■•'.-. ; ■?■ - : '• ••. ••' ■■■'''' ;*'--. "■•.'■"■. The'following table was given:— Variety and Yield of Floiir^'.Baking score. Treatment. Percent;..; Per centl. Tuscan, stook "..'■71.8 .. •■:•"•. 27! ' Tuscan/stack- :!'-•' 65.6---' ~ .33'; Hunters, s.teok .... 72.9 .:.'.--"•'.',■'83.5: Hunters,' stack ..-til ' <...',., 32.5 Pearl, ftook ~-.74.8 '".'■''''• 29.5 . Pearl,, stack:•";•,.• 74.5 ';.';',' .29 Cutting the Crop. '■.'-.-'•. Dealing .with the effect of .the sta ( ge of maturity ..of the crop at-.the time-of cutting, on- the quality of .the grain, the report, gave the following^summary:—- - (1) There is : some ; difference-in the protein content of samples of Tuscan, •Hunters, and Velvet cjit ; over a range .'of about; three weeks from.: green .to after, dead ripe. (2) The milling yields' for the various stages of ;ripeness,' are' fairly-' uniform except in the case of the' greenest Tuscan. . .• ' ') ? v "' : .'.•'■.•;. (3) The baking scores,'for. the throe, groups improve with stage, of In all -cases - the samples .left- after the time' when'ripe for harvesting'by. usual methods gave significantly, higher baking! scores.. ; ..'.;"-..' •."'•'■ (4) The bushel'weights increase ' up to a point with stage of.maturity. Header'Harveßters. "'■.'/.■:, The' committee -resolved to.'continue to v watch the' development of- harvesting *by the use of headers' and other similar machines.'Mr Mulholland.said there was a strong possibility, that they would be successful, but if it were left to haphazard experiment to , discover this, the try would lose much in the process because of the loss which was certain to occur. A comprehensive report had been issued by the committee, but they should go further. , The farmers owed a lot to the activities of Dr. Hilgendorf and Dr; EVankel in- this connexion. Mr James Carr: One ib struck- with the varying-• opinions among farmers as to the., success, of these machines.; The opinions.are based oh the expelrience of last season. Where a farmer was not wise "enough to choose the right time. to deal with "his crop'with these machines he. had a good deal of his grain re-, jpcted; in such cases .the machines nat ; -urally were dubbed a failure... In. other cases, where farmers' had- : been able to ; harvest their wheat at ; -'the proper-stage nothing but gopd wai said-b*/ the work, of.the machines,; The farmer needed the help of the Institute Wdetsidkig this .very .important -question. '-. "..