CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



extended as the fields have been better manured. 

 Though the oat is usually considered to thrive 

 best in moist climates, the level land along the 

 sea-coasts of Scotland, such as in the plains of 

 the Lothians, produces the most grain and finest 

 qualities. Many varieties are suited to climates 

 which are too wet and cold for other grains. The 

 oat is a grosser-feeding plant than any of the 

 other cereals, and can be more freely dressed with 

 nitrogenous manures. In the rotation, oats suc- 

 ceed grass or clovers, and in moist climates, leave 

 the land much cleaner than when wheat is 

 sown. From four to five bushels of seed to the 

 acre are sown broadcast, and from three to four 

 when drilled. The usual time of sowing is from 

 the beginning of March to the end of ApriL If 

 the land be in good condition, the earlier the 

 better. 



Haymaking. When the grass has arrived at or 

 near its full growth, but before the seed is per- 

 fected, it should be cut down. If not in a fit state 

 to be cocked the first day after cutting, it should 

 be put into small handcocks as soon as its state 

 of dryness will allow ; from these it should be 

 gathered into larger ones, and when its condition 

 permits, put into tramp-ricks. Let it be remem- 

 bered that the less the hay is exposed to the sun, 

 the better is its flavour and strength. In wet 

 seasons, the utmost care will -be required not to 

 stack the hay while moist ; for then, like moist 

 sheaves of grain, it will heat, and either burst into 

 a flame, or be seriously damaged in quality. The 

 criterion for good hay is, that it should be greenish 

 in colour, be perfectly dry, and possess a sweet 

 odour and saccharine taste. 



REAPING HARVESTING. 



The ripeness of grain is shewn by the straw 

 assuming a golden colour from the bottom of the 

 stem nearly to the ear ; or when the ear begins to 

 droop gently, the corn may be cut. Although the 

 straw may be green from the ear for some distance 

 down the stem, yet, if it be quite yellow at the 

 bottom, and for some distance upwards, the grain 

 requires no further nourishment from the earth, 

 and if properly harvested, will not shrink. These 

 indications of ripeness may suffice for wheat, 

 barley, and oats. In peaty soils, however, the 

 ears of oats and barley usually ripen before the 

 straw, which often requires to be cut in a green 

 state. 



Reaping. Since the Exhibition of 1851 in 

 London, the reaping of grain by machinery has 

 attracted a great deal of attention. The American 

 reapers exhibited there shewed that the mode of 

 cutting the grain might be simplified, though 

 these machines were in a comparatively imperfect 

 state, and not fitted for the requirements of 

 English agriculture. The following wood-cut 

 represents the cutting part of Hussey's reaper. 

 The cutters are set in motion by the machine as 

 it progresses. 



Bell's original reaper was a much more perfect 

 machine than any of the American machines, as 

 it laid down the corn so that it could be easily 

 gathered up for binding. The liability of the 

 cutting-knives to get out of repair was its prin- 

 cipal defect. It was soon discovered, however, that 

 Bell's might be greatly improved by M'Cormack's 

 mode of cutting. A large number of machines 



630 



were made on this combination, and known as 

 Crosskill's and Bell's reaper. These, however, 

 have long been superseded by much lighter, if 

 not more efficient implements ; many are now 



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Fig. 17. 



drawn by one horse only, and all of them are 

 easy work for a pair. Reaping-machines have 

 now fairly displaced hand-labour either by hook 

 or scythe, except so far as cutting round the fields, 

 to enable the machines to begin working. It 

 was one great advantage of Bell's reaper that it 

 required no assistance before it commenced, but 

 opened out a path to itself. Reaping-machines 

 may be divided into two classes namely, self- 

 delivery and manual-delivery machines. The 

 last, at present, are the most common, owing to 

 the great desire evinced by farmers for machines 

 of the utmost simplicity. Still, the self-delivery 

 machines make way ; they save the wages of a 

 working-man in harvest, as one boy or lad is all 

 that is required to drive the horses and guide the 

 machine. Another great advantage they possess 

 is, that the grain is thrown off in sheaves, suffi- 

 ciently apart from the standing crop to give room 

 for the horses continuing their labour ; while the 

 manual-delivery requires the cut corn to be re- 

 moved before it can again go on. It is certainly 

 better as a rule to bind and stook the corn as it 

 is cut ; but with much ripe grain, and a scarcity 

 of labour, it often proves highly advantageous to 

 cut whole fields before it is possible to tie or stook 

 a single sheaf. In practice, it is found the best 

 plan to cut grain only one way, and that directly 

 against the lie of the straw. The length of the 

 ground is marked off in divisions, in proportion 

 to the number of hands employed, which may run 

 from nine to fifteen to each machine, according 

 to the bulk of the crop. Two people, generally 

 boys or women, make the bands, and place the 

 sheaves in them, while one man binds and stocks 

 the grain. When two or even three machines 

 can be used at one time, the space allotted to each 

 binder and his two assistants is shorter, and con- 

 sequently having to walk a less distance, they 

 are enabled to do more work. On an ordinary 

 farm, it has been found that the number of hands 

 required for harvest-work has been reduced 

 betwixt a third and a half; and in many instances 

 it is wholly done by the ordinary staff of labourers 

 on the farm, aided only by the resident women 

 and children. To say nothing of the reduced 

 expenses from the employment of reaping- 

 machines, the relief of the farmer from intense 

 anxiety as to the conduct of people he never 

 saw before, is almost of itself a priceless boon. 





