38 ON THE AGRICULTURE OF THE COUNTY OF FIFE. 



turned into stocks in a marvellously short time. A good manv 

 self-delivery machines are emj)loyed, but the manual deliveries 

 are by far the most numerous. Strange to say, the scythe was 

 never generally adopted in the county of Fife, almost the whole 

 of the grain having been reaped by the antiquated " hook" till 

 some ten years ago, when reaping machines were introduced. 

 8ome farmers let the cutting of their crop to " thravers," while 

 others engaged shearers and superintended the work themselves. 

 The crop was generally very carefully reaped in this way, but 

 the system was a painfully slow one, and it was abolished not a 

 day too soon. The scythe was employed on several farms for a 

 few years, and is used yet on a few small holdings. Scythes are 

 used in preparing the fields for the reapers, and in cutting out-of- 

 the-way corners. The gathering in of the grain is a work of the 

 greatest importance, and all available hands are employed in it. 

 The stacks are generally large and carefully built and dressed 

 aip, many of the stackyards being finished and " done up" in a 

 most tasteful manner. A good deal of the grain is thrashed 

 out early in the season, and is thus in readiness for the market 

 when prices are most inviting. The top quotations are invariably 

 obtained for the Fifeshire grain, the fiars prices being generally 

 from Is. to 2s. j)er quarter above those in the northern counties 

 of Scotland. 



Wheat. — This fine variety of grain is very extensively grown 



The acreage annually put under wheat in Scotland has been 

 gradually decreasing during the past twenty years, and in this 

 fallino- off Fifeshire has had its full sliare. It will be seen that 

 since 1856 the breadth put under wheat in Fifeshire has become 

 less by more than one-half — a most marvellous decrease in such 

 a short period. The reasons for this change have been various, 

 the most effective perhaps being the recent low prices for wheat 

 and the comparatively high prices for other varieties of grain. A 

 slight waving up or down, however, of the breadth put under 

 wheat in Scotland, need not be viewed with very great apprehen- 

 sion, seeing that the whole wheat produce of the kingdom is but as 

 a drop in the bucket compared to the consumption of wheat in 

 Europe ; it is equal to little more tlian one day's consumpt ! 

 Though the decrease has been large, Fifeshire yet stands at the 

 top of the list in Scotland as a wheat-producing county. It 

 exceeds the next highest counties by upwards of 400U acres, these 

 counties being Forfar and Perth, Haddington coming fourth, with 



