best qualities. The drum of this machine is a skeleton formed of two rings of castiron, fixed upon an axle, and to these rings are fixed six beaters, lying parallel to the axle, forming a skeleton cylinder. It revolves within a concave, which embraces nearly three-fourths of its circumference, and is nowhere more distant from the beaters than 14 inch. The concave is nearly throughout an open trellis or grating, composed of plates and rods of iron and wire; and to complete all, this drum makes from 700 to 900 revolutions per minute. In an apparatus of this kind, it is impossible that an ear of corn, enter how it may, can escape unthrashed, or rather rubbed; for it is evident, that the machine operates by a process of rubbing out the grain; and with all the defects attending these machines, it must be granted that they thrash clean.

1736. Contrasting these machines, we see the Scotch one operating with a very heavy, and, from its general construction, sluggish cylinder, its beaters moving with a velocity of less than 3000 feet a minute, and the grain subjected to its influence over a space not exceeding 1 foot; and when worked by 4 horses, thrashing at the rate of 26 bushels of wheat per hour, dressing included. In the English machine is to be seen a small and extremely light skeleton cylinder, which, from its structure, must be easily moved, though its beaters move with a velocity of 4000 feet per minute, and the grain subjected to its influence over a space of about 4 feet, and, when worked by 4 horses, thrashing at the rate of 36 bushels of wheat per hour, but not dressed, though in general very clean thrashed. The straw is perhaps a little more broken, which is sometimes unimportant.

1737. "I cannot view these two machines," well observes Mr Slight, "without feeling impressed with a conviction that both countries would soon feel the advantage of an amalgamation between the two forms of the machine. The drum of the Scotch thrashing-machine would most certainly be improved by a transfusion from the principles of the English machine; and the latter might be equally improved by the adoption of the manufacturing-like arrangements, and general

economy of the Scotch system of thrashing. That such interchange will ere long take place, I am convinced; and as I am alike satisfied that the advantages would be mutual, it is to be hoped that these views will not stand alone. It has not been lost sight of, that each machine may be said to be suited to the system to which it belongs, and that here, where the corn is cut by the sickle, the machine is adapted to that; while the same may be said of the other, where cutting by the scythe is so much practised. Notwithstanding all this, there appears to be good properties in both that either seems to stand in need of, and it is not improbable but that the grain in Scotland will ere long be entirely cut down by the scythe."

ON THE THRASHING AND WINNOWING OF GRAIN.

1738. The first preparation for thrashing corn- that is, separating the grain from the straw by the thrashing-machine or the flail is taking in the stack to be thrashed, and mowing it in the upper or thrashing-barn. The person appointed to superintend the barn-work, is the one who forks down the stack to be conveyed into the barn. This is generally the steward, where there is one; and where there is none, the person who superintends the field-workers usually takes this charge. In some cases the hedger does it, when there is not much field-work in winter. Suppose, then, that the steward undertakes the duty, he is assisted in it by 4 field-workers.

He also

1739. When about to take in a stack, he provides himself with a ladder to reach its eaves, and a long small fork, usually employed to pitch sheaves at leadingtime to the builder of stacks. provides himself with a stout clasp-knife, which most farm-servants carry. Standing on the ladder, he, in the first place, cuts away with the knife all the tyings of the straw-ropes at the eaves of the stack. On gaining the top, the ladder is taken away, and he cuts away as much of the ropes as he thinks will allow him to remove the covering with the fork. The covering is then pushed down to the ground, until the top of the stack is

completely bared. On the side of the stack nearest the barn, a little of the covering is spread upon the ground by the field-workers, to keep the barn-sheet off the ground, and they spread the sheet over the spread straw, close to the bottom of the stack. The sheaves first thrown

from the base of the stack b, which is in the act of being thrown or cast down by the steward c, and the sheaves, keeping down one side of the sheet, are seen lying in a row as at d. One barrow e, is in the act of being loaded by the field-worker f, whilst another worker g assists in loading every barrow as it returns empty; and another barrow h is seen fully loaded, and in the act of being wheeled away by the third field-worker i to the barn. Each barrow-load, as it arrives at the upper barn, is tilted upon the floor, and emptied at once, instead of the sheaves being lifted out of it one by one. Two barrows, if the distance from the barn is not great, will bring in a stack of ordinary size in a moderate time, say in 3 hours. The fourth worker remains in the upper barn, to pile up the sheaves as they are brought in into what are called mows-that is, the sheaves are placed in rows, parallel to each other, to a considerable height, with their butt ends outwards, the first row being piled against the wall, as seen at a, fig. 145. In casting the stack, the steward takes up the sheaves in the reverse order in which the builder had laid them at harvest-time, beginning with those in the centre first, and then re

VOL. I.

moving those around the circumference one by one. The fork thrust into the band will generally hit the centre of gravity of the sheaves, where they are most easily lifted, and swung towards the sheet. The sheaf k is about the position it assumes on being pitched by a fork, the corn end always having a tendency to drop downwards, and it is supposed to have been lifted from its bed at l. When all the sheaves of the stack have been wheeled in, the steward takes a rake and clears the ground of all loose straws of corn that may have been scattered from the stack to the barn, and puts them into the sheet, the four corners of which are then doubled in towards the middle, including within them the grain that may have been shaken out by the shock received by the sheaves on being thrown down; and the sheet, with its contents, are carried by all the women into the barn, and its contents emptied on the floor, near the feeding-in board of the thrashing-machine. The sheet is then shaken, and spread out upon the stackyard wall, or other airy place, to dry before being folded up to be ready for use on a similar occasion. The covering of the stack is then carried away by the women,

2 c

to such parts of the courts and hammels as are considered by the cattle-man to require littering, before it becomes wetted with rain, and the ground raked clean. The straw-ropes, which bound down the covering of the stack, should be cut by the steward into short lengths before being carried away in the litter, as long ropes are found very troublesome to the men when filling their carts with the dung on clearing out the courts. Stacks should be carried into the barn in dry weather, though a drizzling or muggy day will do little harm to the straw. Damp straw passes through the thrashing-mill not only with difficulty, but is apt to mould and contract a disagreeable smell in the strawbarn. A stack may remain in the barn until the straw is required; or it may be thrashed the first wet day; or it may be required to be thrashed on the subsequent part of the day in which it is carried; or it may be requisite to thrash it as brought

in, in which case additional hands are required to bring it in, while the usual barnworkers are employed at the mill. The steward having to feed in, the hedger, or engine-man, or one of the men, should fieldoperations not be pressing, or even a woman, in a case of emergency, can cast the stack, provided the covering is taken off for her, which the steward will do ere the mill is set on. Two barrows actively worked will keep the mill going, if the distance from the stack to the barn is short.

1740. The barn-sheet is made of thin canvass, and should be about 12 feet square. It is useful not only for this, but many other purposes of the farm, of which notice shall be taken as the occasion suits.

construction of which is so obvious that a specified description seems unnecessary, farther than that it is about 6 feet in length, and stands 2 feet in height to the top of the bracket. The sheaves are laid across the barrow in rows, with the corn and butt ends alternately, and they are kept from sliding off in the act of being wheeled, by the slanting bracket which is supported by stays. In this way, from 10 to 15 sheaves, according to their bulk, may be wheeled away at once by a

woman.

1742. Ladders are most useful implements about a farm-steading. They are best formed of tapering Norway pine spars, sawn up the middle. A useful form of ladder for farm purposes is shown in fig. 143, where the rounded form of the

Norway spar, divided in two, is placed outmost, though it is as often placed inmost. These spars a a, are connected together by steps b of clean ash, pushed through auger-made holes in the spars, and rendered firm by means of wedges driven into the outside ends of the steps. The steps are 9 inches apart, and 16 inches long at the bottom, and 13 inches at the top, in a ladder of 15 feet in length, which is the most useful size for the use of a stack-yard. To prevent the ladder from falling to pieces, in consequence of the shrinking of the round steps, a small rod of iron is placed under the upper, middle, and lower steps, where one of its ends is passed through each spar, and held firmly there by means of a shoulder on the inside, and a nut and screw on the outside of each end of the rods. When properly

finished and painted, such a ladder will last many years. Fig. 143.

THE LADDER.

1743. A couple of 10 feet, a couple of 15 feet, and one of 24 feet ladders, will suffice for all the purposes of a farm, as also for the repairs of the steading and houses.

1744. Some dexterity is required to set a long ladder on end, as also to carry it from one place to another. To place it in a perpendicular position, its lower or heavy end should be shoved against any object capable of resisting its slipping upon the ground; and on its light end being elevated arm's-length above the head, the position is kept good by another person taking a step between the prongs of a fork, by means of which that end of the ladder is still more elevated, while it is still increased by the first person pushing arm's-length, simultaneously, against

one step after another, till the perpendicular position is gained. A long ladder is carried from one place to another in this way, provided the distance to be carried is short. Set the perpendicular edge of the ladder against the right shoulder, and then take hold of a step with the right hand, and raise the ladder steadily by it a little from the ground, while, to retain the perpendicular position, grasp a step above the head firmly with the left hand, and then walk steadily forward. Some can carry it steadily by grasping one step with both hands, with the edge leaning against the shoulder; and some even are so powerful in the arms, as to carry a ladder by the steps at arm's-length before them, with one arm above, and another below the head. A ladder may be moved on the ground a short distance, while standing in a perpendicular position, by holding a spar in each hand at arm's-length, and then moving first one foot of the ladder in advance, and then the other, till the spot is gained. This sort of motion, when applied to moving a large stone, is technically named by masons cutting. A long ladder is brought down from the perpendicular to the horizontal position, by placing it against a stack, as against c, fig. 143, or any other object which will resist its foot slipping on the ground, and allowing it to come to the inclined position against the arms, with the hands stretched above the head, and the ladder will approach the horizontal position the farther you recede from its lower end, the upper end being supported by another person with a long fork. When not in use, ladders should be laid on the ground along the side of a stack, or the stack-yard wall; when left standing they are apt to twist. Ladders are more frequently destroyed by being brought to the ground in a careless manner, and by being blown down by the wind while resting against a stack, than by fair use.

1745. Another mode of taking in a stack into the upper barn is with a horse and cart, when the sheaves are mowed up by one woman, and carried from the door by another. When this plan is adopted as a fixed one, there is no gangway to the upper barn, the cart being set alongside the wall, and the sheaves forked into the door upon the floor, from whence

they are carried to the mow. This plan also requires the stack-yard to be constructed so as a cart may pass and turn between every two rows of stacks, thereby causing it to occupy a large space of ground. It has also the effect of laying a plough idle when a stack is taking in, unless there be an odd horse, worked by a lad, employed over and above the ordinary number of draughts. If a plough is laid idle upon every stack being taken in, greater loss is incurred by employing the horses in this way, than in paying 4 women and having 2 barrows; and, after all, the women will be required to work in the barn when the mill is set on. When a horse is employed, 2 men are required at the taking in of the stack; one to cast the stack, and the other to drive the horse, unless, indeed, a woman is employed to cast the stack, which she may occasionally do, but cannot be depended on to possess the requisite strength to do the work throughout the season. On taking in with a horse, one barn-sheet is required at the stack and another at the barn-wall. The cart-wheels are apt to cut up the stack-yard in wet weather, unless the roads through it are metalled with stones, which incurs expense; and in time of snow, a complete road must be cut for the passage of the cart. Roads through a stack-yard, to admit carts every where, and give freedom to go to the barn from any part, lays the stack-yard open to people and stock. I confess I like the gangway and barrows, as being a neater and quieter mode of proceeding with the work, especially as women are obliged to be employed in the barn; but even with a gangway, a cart or carts may be occasionally employed in taking in a stack while the mill is going, by the sheaves being forked from the cart, across the head of the gangway, into the upper barn, and thence taken to the mow or feeding-in table.

1746. Before setting on the thrashingmill, its several parts require to be oiled. Fine sweet oil should be employed for this purpose, though too often a coarse dirty oil is used. It should be put for use into a small tin-flask, having a long narrow spout, fig. 144, to reach any gudgeon behind a wheel. The gudgeons which require oiling are those of the drum, the spur-wheel, the shakers, and the fanuers;

and, with horse-power, that of the pinion of the lying-shaft, as also the step of the Fig. 144.

THE OIL-CAN.

bone-wheel; and in the case of waterpower, those of the wheel, and the lying and upright shafts. It is the duty of the steward to oil the machine.

1747. When steam is employed as the moving power, the fire should be kindled by the engine-man in time to get up the steam by the moment it is wanted. From half an hour to an hour may be required for this purpose, according to the state of the atmosphere. When water is the power, the sluice of the supply dam should be drawn up to the proper height, to allow the water time to reach the millwheel sluice when it is wanted. When the power is of horses, the horses are yoked in the wheel by their respective drivers, immediately after leaving the stable at the appointed hour of yoking; and while one of the men is left in charge of driving the horses, the others go to the straw-barn to take away the straw from the screen of the mill with straw-forks, figs. 110, 111, and fork it in mows across the breadth of the barn.

1748. The steward undertakes the feeding-in of the corn, and has the sole control of the mill. Two women are appointed to the upper barn above-one to bring forward the sheaves, the other to loosen their bands and place them, as required, upon the table of the feeding-in board. Other two women are appointed in the corn-barn below, one to take away the corn as it comes from the spout, and riddle it with a riddle appropriate to the sort of corn, in a bin in one corner or side of the barn. The other takes away the roughs, or coarse corn, from the other spout, and riddles it with an appropriate riddle in a heap by itself, throwing the skimmings of the riddlings in a chaffsheet, which she carries to the upper barn, to be again put through the mill. Where elevators are in use, one woman is sufficient in the corn-barn to riddle the corn as it comes from the clean spout, and the