268 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



reaping machines great changes have been eflected. I 

 hold that too much discussion cannot take place upon this 

 point ; for, with the exception of last han'est, much 

 difficulty has been experienced throughout England in 

 getting the corn cut at a proper time, and therefore consi- 

 derable loss has been entailed upon the farmer. If through 

 this discussion the best method can be arrived at, or 

 settled, our time will have beenwell spent. My own opinion 

 is, that to let the whole of the cutting, carting, and thatch- 

 ing to a company of men is the best : it has been adopted 

 by several of my friends, and to their entire satisfaction. 

 There is one gentleman in my own immediate neighbour- 

 hood, whose name is now well-known throughout the 

 country in connexion with steam cultivation, who adopts 

 this mode of harvesting. He is a most 2)i'actical man ; 

 and no one in our county gets more work done for bis 

 money. I will, if you will allow me, read you extracts from 

 my correspondence, and begin with my own county, taking 

 first the letter of Mr. Pike's, of Stevington, the gentleman 

 to whom I have alluded. He states : " I let my hai-vest as 

 follows : I agreed with seventeen of my own men to cut, 

 cart, and stack the whole of my corn at lis. per acre, with 

 four pints of beer per day, to be cut close to the ground 

 and all tied, viz., 100 acres of wheat, 60 of barley, 14 of 

 oats, and 60 of beans. I agreed to find boys for carting 

 and to horse-rake it ; they tie and cart the draggings ; the 

 thatching is done at Is. per acre. Former years I let them 

 the thatching by the square ; that did not answer, as they 

 made too many stacks, by not canning them high enough 

 in the walls. With regard to using the reaping machine, 

 they agreed to allow me 3s. per acre for the use of it and 

 horses. By adopting the plan of letting the whole harvest, 

 I have very little trouble with men or boys, for I find if 

 . they do not get on fast enough, they can get hands when I 

 could not. One great advantage of cutting close is, that I 

 get my land ready for breaking-up by steam for tares, man- 

 golds, beans, &c. I have all hoeing done by the piece; 

 dung carting I generally let by the lump — that is say, so 

 much to fill and spread such a heap to go over so many 

 acres, or so much for emptying a yard. One job I am 

 anxious to have done by the piece — that is, the steam cul- 

 tivating, which I think would be a great advantage, as it is 

 so difi'erent from ploughing with horses : long days do not 

 distress the engine. The only objection to piece-work in 

 short days is, the desire of the men to make them shorter; 

 if they are allowed to come late and leave early, the day 

 men, whom we are obliged to have to look after the stock, 

 become dissatisfied." Mr. Pike will derive some informa- 

 tion from this discussion, as he will find, from letters I 

 shall shortly read from Lincolnshire, that the plan of let- 

 ting steam cultivation by the piece has been adopted by 

 two practical men. The next letter is from Mr. Horrell, of 

 Oakley, who occupies one of the principal farms of the 

 Du-ke of Bedford. He states : " In this district, with the 

 exception of draining, piece work is confined chiefly to 

 the spring and summer months, such as hoeing wheat, 

 beans, peas, and turnips, for which I pay as follows : — beans 

 and peas per acre, 3s. 6d. ; wheat from 8s. to 3s. 6d. ; tur- 

 nips, at 27 inches apart, setting out and once hoeing, ex- 

 clusive of horsc-hoeing, 6s. ; mowing grass from 2s. 6d. to 

 3s., with allowance of beer. When I commence my harvest 

 operations, I agree with as many men as will be able to cut 

 the com as fast as I can with another set get it up after 

 them. I consider I can gather in as much com when tied 

 with one set of men, as I can when oUierwise with double 

 the number. I pay the following prices : reaping wheat, 

 from 8s. to lis.; mowing and tying barley ready for cart- 



ing, 6s. ; mowing and tying oats, 7s. ; mowing barley, 3s. ; 

 and bagging beans, 10s. per acre." Mr. Horrell also ob- 

 serves, " that if a farmer wishes to be forward with 

 his work, he must adopt the plan of having it done 

 by the piece, and pay fair wages for the performance 

 of the same, which stimulates the men to greater ex- 

 ertion." The next letter I propose reading is from Mr. 

 Battams, of Carlton — one of our best and most successful 

 farmers, who has recently retired from business, leaving 

 his sons in large farms. He says : " Although I have 

 thrown the plough in the ditch, I will refer to my labour- 

 book, and give you the prices paid upon my farms for 

 piece and day work. I will commence with my first ope- 

 ration, grubbing up about 60 acres of woodland. This cost 

 £8 per acre. It was then di-ained 4 feet deep, at 2s. 6d. 

 per chain. I next dug with spade 90 acres of old grass, 

 covered with ant hills. This was done at £-2 to £2 2s. per 

 acre. It was then drained 4 feet deep, at 2s. and 2s. 3d. 

 per chain. The old jiloughed land was drained the same 

 depth, and at the same price, except where the pickaxe 

 was used. This cost 3s. 6d. to 4s. per chain. The above 

 was extraordinary farm work. I had more than 100 men 

 employed at one time, my sons superintending the work ; 

 it was done well, and the men earned 12s. to 15s. per week, 

 and some even more, in the winter months. I now come 

 to ordinary farm work, done by the piece : trimming hedges, 

 2d. per chain ; singling turnips, and hoeing the side of the 

 ridge after the horsehoe, 5s. to 6s. per acre ; topping and 

 pitting turnips, 6s. ; mangold wurzel, singled by the day, 

 and for pulling, topping, and placing in rows for carting, 

 3s. ; bean dibbling, 2 ft. apart, when the rows are marked 

 out, 3s. 6d. ; if unmarked, 4s. 6d. per acre ; hoeing ditto 

 twice after the horsehoe, 6s. ; mowing clover 2s. ; mowing 

 grass, 2s. 6d. to 3s. per acre, with 3 pints of beer per day; 

 mowing, sheafing, raking, and shocking wheat, barley, and 

 oats, 7s. to 8s. ; pea hooking, 4s. 6d. to 5s. 6d. ; bean hook- 

 ing, 7s. 6d. per acre, with 4 pints of beer per day ; thatch- 

 ing, Is. per square of 100 feet, with beer; harvest carting, 

 3s. 6d. per day ; oi'dinary day laboiu', lis. per week; men 

 attending the steam engine, 15s. per week, with beer; 

 horsekeepers and shepherds, 12s. per week, with house and 

 garden rent free. I think it desiralile to have work done 

 by the piece where practicable ; but I find three-fourths of 

 the ordinary work of the farm is performed by the day, and 

 I cannot well see how it is to be avoided, with so many 

 men attending stock, and the thrashing, chaff cutting, 

 grinding, and a great part of the cultivation of land done 

 by the steam engine ; but even this day labour may be done 

 very satisfactorily, whei'e a good feeUng exists between the 

 master and the men, the former devoting sufficient time to 

 the superintendence of the workmen." Mr. Battams adds, " I 

 have not noticed the cost of paring and trimming old grass 

 land, as I think the necessity of doing it almost exceptional. 

 I prefer double ploughing ; what I have bm-nt cost ^2 an 

 an acre." Sir. Battams ask me how I purpose to make use 

 of his name, and goes on to say : " Recollect I am an old 

 fellow. Seeing the candle coming to an end, rather than 

 flicker in the socket, I thought it better to light others, 

 that I might see how they would burn before I was quite 

 extinguished. I have had 38 years of farming, and I shall 

 now be content to see my sons, who are all farmers, go a 

 long way a-head of their father." IMr. Battams has pursued 

 a wise course. He knows what a great many farmers, who 

 have grown-up sons, do not, viz., when to leave off. In our 

 county, you are all aware the Duke of Bedford has a very 

 large, and, I may add, exceedingly well-managed estate, 

 upon which draining has been cfirvied out to a very large 



