THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



323 



The activity or dulncsa of the competition will be seen from 

 the prices realized. It may, however, be interesting to add a 

 few particulars on this subject. TJius, among the shearling 

 ewes, lot 1 advanced from 3 to 8i ^s-, and lot 3 from 4 to 7 

 gs.; Mr. Crisp distancing all competitors in each case. For 

 the four-toothed ewes, there was no very great advance made 

 on the first biddings. In the next class — full-mouthed ewes, the 

 most noticeable enhancement took place for lot 1, for which 

 the biddings rose from 2^ to 4^ ga. For the ewe lambs half- 

 crown biddings, calling for no particular notice, were made. 

 The rams, of course, attracted a good deal of notice. For lot 

 1 in this class the first bid was 10 gs., and the ram was knocked 

 down at 26 gs. Lot 2 started at 20 gs., and the glass ran out 

 at 28 gs. Lot 3 mounted from 10 to 24 gs., lot 4 from 10 to 

 17 gs., lot 6 from 5 to 10 gs., lot 7 from 5 to 12 gs., lot 10 

 from 8 to 20 gs., lot II from 5 to 11 gs., lot 13 from 10 to 

 19 gs., lot 14 from 14 to 30 gs., lot 15 from 10 to 16 gs., lot 

 16 from 10 to 21 gs,, lot 18 from 8 to 12 gs., lot 19 from 10 to 

 25 gs., lot 20 from 5tol2g8., and lot 21, the last in the class, 

 from 5 gs.to 8 gs. For some of the two-shear, three-shear, and 

 four-shear rams there was also a good competition. Thus, 



lot 22 started at 5 gs. and was sold at 24 gs., lot 23 mounted 

 from 10 gs. to oO gs., lot 25 from 5 gs. to 10 gs., lot 26 from 

 5 gs. to 18 gs., lot 27 from 5 gs. to 16 gs., lot 29 from 5 gs. 

 to 12 gs., lot 30 from 2^ gs. to 11 gs,, lot 33 from 3 gs. to 

 14 gs,, lot 36 from 3 gs. to 8 gs., &c. Only one of the ram 

 lambs, it will be seen, exceeded 10 gs., although two or three 

 others very nearly reached that amount. It was rather amus- 

 ing to notice the difficulty occasionally experienced in starting 

 a bid, and the activity with which the competition, once com- 

 menced, continued. In fact, to use an expression of Mr, 

 Strafford, the company sometimes evinced a tendency to 

 " dwell" rather too much upon the lot in the ring. It ought 

 to be stated that some of the parties whose names appear as 

 buyers, purchased on commission ; but as private arrange- 

 ments do not fall within the province of this or any other 

 journal, the name announced by the auctioneer is appended in 

 each case. 



The sale was brought to a close about 6 o'clock, the rain 

 through which Mr. Strafford perseveringly plied his avocation 

 having somewhat protracted the proceedings, and caused some 

 annoyance to those unprovided with umbrellas. 



GRAIN SECURING. 



Sir, — The rapid progress made during these late years in 

 the art of agriculture has afforded rich matter of thought and 

 interest to the observer, an exhaustless topic of discussion to 

 the orator and penny-a-liner, and the furtherance of which has 

 engaged the attention and time of many, eminent for their 

 practical and scientifical attainments. 



I willingly accord honour to whom honour is due; 

 and no doubt farmers in general have reason to be grateful to 

 those shining lights, who, by their researches from time to 

 time, have thrown a halo over their hitherto bewildered and 

 darkened path. Yet, is it not possible that, while labouring 

 to bring out something grand and startUng, a something where- 

 with their names may descend to posterity in association with 

 the improvements of agriculture, and as its benefactors — is it 

 not possible that, while pursuing the fanciful and the shadowy, 

 they may miss their way and lose the reality, and that 

 common things, things of apparently little amount to the un- 

 concerned spectator, and the true value of which is only known 

 to the man who has a certain amount of £ s. d. to make good 

 against a certain day, are lost sight of, or at least thrown into 

 the background ? 



I have been led thus to write while at this present time ex- 

 periencing the great expense, anxiety, and care attendant on 

 the unsatisfactory method of securing the newly-stacked grain 

 from the effects of the weather. 



It may not be necessary to specify all the inconveniences 

 there are in the common mode of thatching. To practical men 

 they are too well known ; but aa I intend to give a rough 

 sketch of what I consider would go far to remedy many of 

 them, it may be as well, for the sake of comparison, to point 

 out at least the annual expense of securing a given number of 

 Stacl<3. Corn-stacks in this neighbourhood, as in many others, 

 are generally made in a circular form, an average size being 

 15 feet diameter at the bottom. The thatching of one such 

 stack is considered a day's work for a man. Harvest-wages 

 range from 48. per day upwards, and with beer, &c., say 43. 

 6d. per day ; preparing the straw, pins, purchase of twine, &c., 

 will put at least other 2s. expense on the stack ; in the whole 

 the securing of one such stack stands to the sum of 6s. 6d. 

 Further to illustrate my views, suppose the stacks are all 



built contiguous to the thrashing-mil), what is the expense of 

 taking down and conveying to the barn ? This requires one 

 man to fork off the stack, one to load, one to unload, and an- 

 other in the barn to take in, and two horses for the carts ; 

 with which force one of the aforementioned stacks may be got- 

 in in a half day, at an expense of Ss. ; making, with the 

 thatching, 143. 6d. per stack. Where 100 acres of corn 

 are grown we may calculate on having 40 such stacks, and 

 the cost of securing and conveying to the thrashing-mill 

 would amount to £29— no inconsiderable sum for such simple 

 operations ; and were the inconvenience to end with the cost, 

 the system might not seem so very intolerable. But who has 

 not in the middle of the night been awakened with the roaring 

 of the wind and the beating of the rain ? and if by any inad- 

 vertence his thatching has not proceeded simultaneously with 

 his stacking, what are his feelings ? Not of the most agree- 

 able description I know, and best known to those who have 

 experienced them. Again, imagine some coarse stormy day, 

 when to venture out-doors with either men or horses is out of 

 the question. Who has not wished that he could at once re- 

 move one of his ricks from the yard to his barn, dry and 

 without taking to pieces ? or that he could thrash, and so keep 

 all at work and all comfortable ? 



This latter inconvenience we have seen remedied on the 

 farm of J, B. Faviell, Esq., near Wetherby, who has a line of 

 rails from his barn to his ricks. The ricks he builds on a frame 

 placed on four wheels; and when he wants to thrash, heputs-to a 

 horse, and drags an entire stack right to his feeding-board, 

 where under cover, in any weather, he can proceed. I 

 fancied, however, there was a defect in Mr. Faviell's arrange- 

 ment which might lead to inconvenience. Instead of one line 

 of rails I should propose having two, but merging into one 

 before coming to the barn. On one line could be placed 

 whatever was the preponderating crop of the farm ; the other 

 to be filled with the other sorts of grain. On both lines I 

 should have " sidings," which Mr, F. has not, so that if neces- 

 sary any stack or stacks could be shunted and allow others to 

 be got out. An opening should be made in the barn, wide 

 enough and high enough to allow the stacks to be drawn under 

 cover and close to the feeding-bottrd. 



