!?i)2 Cultivation of Arabic Land. Thatching of Grain Slacks. 



fo contrived as to be capable of ftanding clofe to their fides, and by that means 

 enable the workman to pitch the fheaves with more eafe and convenience to the 

 perfons employed in forming the (lacks. Aneafy contrivance of this fort will be 

 defcribed in fpcaking of the methods of (lacking hay. 



Thatching ofGririn-flacks. In the thatching and trimming of corn-flacks, confider- 

 able experience, ingenuity and art are necefiary, in order to perform the bufincfs 

 in a complete manner. The mod fuitable maternl for the purpofe is good wheat- 

 ftraw that has not been much bruifed in threfhingout the grain. But when this 

 cannot be had &amp;lt;in diffident quantity, rye- ft raw maybe fubftituted in its place ; 

 which, however, from its rough and ftubborn quality, is neither fo neat in its ap 

 pearance, fo durable, nor affords fo fecure a covering. Barley and oat draw are 

 fometimcsinade life of for the purpofe ; but they form ve-ry indifferent coverings, 

 and fuch as are not by any means lafting. 



There is Mill another material that may be made ufe of with propriety and ad 

 vantage in fame fituations. This is the flubble of fuch wheat-crops as have been 

 -cut at a great height ; which, alter being mown clofe to the ground and raked up, 

 Icrve the purpofe very well. 



In preparing thefe fubflances for application, after being well moiflened with 

 water, they aredrawn out inhandfuls perfectly flraighl and even into regular lengths, 

 and the fhortflraw feparated, leaving them placed in convenient bundles to be car 

 ried to the thatcher. 



In the application of the thatch, different methods are purfued according to the 

 nature of the materials employed. When long ftraw is made ufe of, the operator 

 ufually begins at the eaves or bottom of the roof, depofiting it in handfuls in regular 

 1 breadths till he reaches the top, the different handfuls being fo placed endways 

 as to overlap each other, the upper ends being conflantly pufhed a little into the 

 bottom parts of the fheaves. In this manner he gradually proceeds, breadth after 

 breadth, till the whole of the roof is covered, which is ufually done to the thicknefs 

 of about four or five inches. And in order to retain the thatch in its place, fliort 

 fnarp- pointed flicks are occasionally thrufl in, in a flanting direction upwards, and 

 fbmetimes fmall flicks fharpened at the ends are bent and thruft in along the top 

 parts and fides. Bnt as the water is apt to follow the courfe of the flicks, it is a 

 better practice to make ufe of ropes of twifled flraw for this purpofe. In fome 

 cafes thefe are applied only round the bottom parts of the roof and the fides ; while 

 in others, which is a much better and more fecure method, they are applied in fuch 

 a manner over the whole flacks as to form a fort of coarfe net- work nine or twelve 



