268 



liave been received from Florida or Lonisiaua, and very few from Ala- 

 bama or Mississippi. In Texas a somewhat uniform custom allows one- 

 tenth of the grain thrashed to the itinerant thrasher. In many counties 

 in the Gulf region what little grain is raised is thrashed with the flail. 

 In some cases the grain is thrashed by means of the driving machinery 

 of the cotton-gin attached to tlie thrashing-machine. 



In the southern inland States thrashing usages become more definite 

 toward the northera sections. In Arkansas the toll of 10 per cent, of 

 the thrashed grain is almost universal. The thrasher in all cases finds 

 the motive-power, no steam-machinery being reported. In Tennessee, 

 no steam-machines are reported, but the motive horse-power is always 

 large. The toll varies from one-fifteenth to one-tenth, the grain being 

 generally cleaned and ready for the sack. Occasionally the thrasher i» 

 })aid in cash at from 6 to 10 cents per bushel. The thrasher furnishes 

 most of the motive-power. In West Virginia and Kentucky, steam- 

 machinery is frequently noted. Tolling the grain is less common than 

 farther south. The cash jjrice of thrashing ranges from 5 cents to 12i 

 cents per bushel, according to tlie completeness of the work, the num- 

 ber of hands hired by the thrasher, &e. In Berkeley, West Virginia, if 

 horse-power is used, the thrasher finds one hand and all the horses but 

 two ; in the case of steam-power he hires four hands. Steam-machinery 

 requires generally from 14 to IG hands in addition to those managing 

 the machine. The farmer always boards the horses and men brought 

 by the thrasher. 



North of the Ohio the usages are quite uniform, and not greatly differ- 

 ent from those of West Virginia and Kentucky. Steam-machinery i& 

 very common in large portions of this section. In some cases these 

 machines require a working force of seventeen to twenty men, and 

 thrash from 400 to 800 bushels per day. The thrasher usually furnishes 

 an engineer and feeder, with one or two other hands, and receives from 

 3 to 8 cents per bushel. The toll system is scarcely mentioned In all 

 this region. The horse-machines are generally of very great power, 

 requiring from eight to twelve horses and a large gang of men to work. 

 The prices do not greatly differ from those of steam-machinery. In 

 some counties it is estimated that the amount paid the thrasher is about 

 half the total cost of the operation to the farmer. The proportion, 

 however, varies with the amount of motive-power and labor furnished 

 by the thrasher or the farmer. In some cases the farmer, and in others 

 the thrasher, furnishes all the teams. 



West of the Mississippi the ten-horse machine is in most general use, 

 G horses being furnished by the thrasher and 4 by the farmer, though 

 these proportions are sometimes varied. In some counties these 

 ■will average 300 bushels of wheat per day, and steam-machines will 

 turn out 700 per day. In the latter case the total cost does not exceed 

 11 cents per bushel; in the case of horse-machines the thrasher receives 

 from 4 to 6 cents per bushel for wheat, while the other expenses bring 

 the entire cost to 10 or 11 cents. The thrasher brings generally about 

 two men with him and the farmer from seven to nine, making the aver- 

 age number of the gang about ten or twelve. Some large steam-ma- 

 chines require twenty men to supply the sheaves and take away the 

 straw, besides three men to run the machine. In Nebraska and in some 

 parts of Missouri and Kansas the usage is for the thrasher and farmer 

 to furnish an equal number of horses. In only one case is there men- 

 tioned anything like a tendency to toll the thrashed grain. The small- 

 est total cost is in Nebraska. 



Passing to the Pacific coast, the increased size of machines and en- 



