Show CUTTING SHOCKING STACKING AND THRASHING OAT CROP AT PROPER TIME at Z 1 ay I 1 14 ayta M EA i nu ve V e i in i i harvesting A crop of oats prepared Prepare 4 by the united states department of Agel agriculture culture oats visually usually are cut with a groin grain binder though in the lie drier sections the header or the combined harvester and thrasher Is used occasionally when the straw Is very short due to drought or when the crop Is badly lodged cutting with a mower may be necessary necessary the grain may then be raked arid and put into cocks which should be built so as to shed rain the proper time to cut oats la Is when they are in the hard dough stage cut before this time the grain Is not well filled it shrivels in curing and Is light in weight if allowed to become fully ripe before cutting a considerable part of the crop shatters out and is lost in harvesting the danger of damage from storms also Is increased when a large acreage Is to be harvested it Is advisable to begin cutting soon after the grain passes out of tile the milk stage as otherwise a R considerable part of the crop is likely to become too ripe before it can be cut shocking if the grain Is ripe or in the hard I 1 dough stage when cut it may be placed at once in round shocks which should le be capped to prevent damage from rain and dew the best quality of grain can be obtained under these conditions it if the grain Is green or st it th the e bundles contain many weeds they should be allowed to cure for a few fenk hours before shocking and then should be placed in long shocks which may or may inay not be capped long shocks allow the sun and air to penetrate much more readily than round ones and are to be preferred when the grain Is cut green or when hen conditions for curing are not favorable if long shocks are cappe capped d properly they protect the grain from weathering quite as nell as round shocks grain that Is wet from dew or rain should be allowed to dry before it Is shocked in sections wh where ere strong winds prevail during the harvest season capping Is not advisable as the caps blow off and tile the cap sheaves may be injured by contact w with th the ground A good round shock may be built by first bettl setting g up two bundles with the flat sides facing the heads together and the butts a few inches apart these bundles should be jammed down hard into the stubble e so that they will stand firmly then set another bundle bundie at each lend end of this pair so that there v tit ill be four in a row next nest set one in the middle of each side this leaves at each of the tour four corners a space in which a bundle should be placed there are now ten bundles in the shock which la Is about the right number it if the grain is very dry a few more bundles may be set around the shock whore where they seem scorn to fit best when the desired number of bundles Is set up the shock should be capped one or two bundles may be used in capping depending on the length of the straw and the dryness of the grain one cap allows circulation of air through the shock while two caps afford greater protection from rain the cap bundle is broken by supporting it with the butts on one knee and with one forearm and hand under it at the bond band while the straw at each side is broken over just above the band with the other land hand the straw of about halt half a bundle Is broken to the right with the rl right ht land hand then the hands are reversed find and the remainder of the bundle Is broken to the left with the left land hand lon long shocks may be built by setting up two bundles with the hat flat sides fac lag ing the tops together and the butts icv several ral indies inches apart to allow circulation of air between them the next pair of bundles should hould be set up alongside the first in the same way with the tops leaning slightly toward the first pair the shock Is completed by setting another pair at each end and ami then placing single bundles with the flat beths in tile the opening between betge on each end pair it if desired more than ton ten bundles bundies may be bc placed in ion long k shocks bocks in copping capping 0 long shocks tile the first bundle should be put on with tile the butts bulls pointing in in the direction from which tho the prevailing winds windi come anil and covering the heads bends of the bundles la in that end ud of tile the shock as completely as possible tile the second cap should then be laid on the other oilier end of the q fiock in tile the same manner with tile the heads overlapping those of the first two bundles will shock with considerable cover an ordinary long sid erable overlap but it tile shock Is very tory large more than two caps may be needed stacking whether oats should be stacked or allowed to remain rett lain in tile the shock hock until they tire are thrashed depends very largely on local conditions if they can be thrashed from the shock after they are cured but before they are injured by weather the best course to pursue depends on the relative cost of shock and stack thrashing investigations show that stacking adds about one to one and one half cents a bushel to the cost of producing oats oata As thrashing outfits lire are often not available when they hey t are wanted and as consequently the grain is likely to be injured by weathering stacking Is generally advisable particularly in the humid section when grain Is stacked stach cd it Is important that the stacks be well built if the stacks are put up so carelessly that they will not shed water the grain might better be allowed to stand in the th shocks the bottoms of the stacks should be raised from the ground slightly by laying down old rails or other material to keep the straw from coming in contact with the earth thus preventing the of moisture from helow below the shape of the stack Is less important than the manner in which the bundles are laid though round stacks probably shed water better thoun than the tha long ricks sometimes built stacking should be bogun as soon its as the grain is well wel cured in the shock la in about ten days to two weeks after cutting round stacks are usually about nebout ten feet in diameter at the base the usual plau is to build four stacks in a setting in pairs six feet apart first build a large round sh shock ock about eight feet in diameter then place two layers of bundles one direct ly on top of the other with the heads head resting against the shock and the butts forming the ten toot foot base of the stack slake make the next row with nith the butts just covering the bands of the other row in the same manner lay rows of bundles like shingles until the center is reached overlapping the ro rows ws h a little more toward the center of th the e stack when the first layer Is completed begin again at the outside a and nd build toward the center shocked ked bundles have slanting butts because they are set in the shock with a slight slant instead of exactly upright in building the outside rows around the stack lay the long edge of the butt on top and projecting beyond the lower bundle in this way the diameter of the stack Is gradually increased forming the bulge after a beig height lit of seven or eight feet Is reached lay the outer bundles with the lo 10 long 13 edge of the butt beneath ard just covering the inner edge of the layer just clam completed plated in this way the diameter Is gradually decreased and the stack Is tapered slowly to a point A al keep the middle of the stack high and firmly tramped down do not the outer layer at all K keep cep ing the middle high gives all the bundles a slant toward the outside and helps to shed rain at the peak where the bundles oyer overlap lap fasten a capa securely by setting it on a sharpened stake driven into the top of the stack A well built stack ten feet in diameter should be 20 1 0 to 25 feet high thrashing As previously stated it Is cheaper to thresh directly from the shock it if the work can be done while the grain la Is still in good condition thrashing from the shock Is often subject to delay from rains however as the work must wait walt until the bundles are dry this may mean the loss of one or even two or three days after heavy rains rain s ou on the other hand it if the grain Is stacked thra thrashing may be resumed almost as soon as le the rain stops steps grain may be thrashed from the shock either before or of ter tt it has gone through the sweat it if it Is thrashed before it goes through the sweat it will III sweat in the lain bin but it if it is dry thrashed it will mill not bli b injured injure if the grala grain is damp when thrashed it sweats too much and Is likely to IL become conie hot and be damaged lam aged by blu bin burning stacked grain should be allowed to go through the sweat before it Is thrall thrashed lea the separator should be well cleaned before thrashing Is begun particularly it if it has come from a neighbors farm where a different variety of oats 1 ia grown or it some other grain ha lias 3 just been thrashed cleaning the separator also prevents the bringing of weed seeds from other forms farms the op operation crathon 0 of f the mach machine inc should ul d b be c watched carefully to see that till all the grain is removed from the straw it Is much easier to do a clean job of thrashing when mhd alio grain Is ia dry than when it la Is m olst the straw should be run rua into the tha mow where Is can call be kept under cover or it if it must be stacked outside the stack should be built carefully so that it will shed writer water oat straw Is a valuable roughage for live stock tk ire lag jug much better for this jur purpose pose than the straw of wheat or barley it Is a also of value tor for bedding aud the maling making of manure it if tt it Is not tit ill n ceded ter far feed |