Chapter 12

tough outer layer of grain

also called chaff or husk

...then they beat off the dried outer hulls and stored the nuts in the attic for winter.

the seed of corn or grain

also refers to inner edible part

He nubbed the ears, shelling off the small, chaffy kernels at their tips.

to throw or fling

usually with a pitchfork

Pa and Uncle Henry, on top of the wheat stack, were pitching bundles down onto a board.

to remove the seeds from the shell, pod, or cob

He nubbed the ears --- shelling off the small, chaffy kernels at their tips.

a shrub or small tree with cone-shaped clusters and bright autumn colors

Along the rail fence, the sumac held up its dark red cones of berries...

person or machine that separates the grain from a plant

Ma said the threshers had come...