3o8 A FARMER'S YEAR 



thing starts, drawn by two horses. It is beautiful to see it work, 

 for it cuts wonderfully clean, the arms sweeping the bundles of 

 corn from the platform in sheaves, ready for the binder. By a 

 clever contrivance of the mechanism, which it is impossible to 

 explain here, this act is not always performed by the same arm. 

 The limb that at one revolution delivers the bundle from the table 

 to the ground, at the next merely bends the straw over the 

 knives, while another dips down to the platform and clears it. 



Thus into these various and complex operations the strength of 

 the horses is transformed and distributed to each of them in such 

 proportion as is needful. Care, however, must be taken at the 

 corners, where the reaper turns, or it will jam ; indeed, it is 

 well for a man to round these off with a scythe. Some people 

 yoke three horses to such machines, but I use only two, which are 

 changed at noon, as half a day's work with a reaper behind them 

 is quite enough for a pair of horses. I believe, by using six horses 

 instead of four, under favourable circumstances, that twelve or 

 thirteen acres can be ' knocked down,' but we are quite satisfied 

 if we get through six or eight in a day's work. By the way, I 

 see in the papers that a terrific accident has just happened with one 

 of these machines. A pair of horses attached to it bolted, and in 

 trying to stop them their owner was thrown to the ground and so 

 cut about by the knives that he died. 



August i8. — Yesterday we finished mowing the barley on the 

 Ape field. No. 26, and that on the part of No. 23 opposite which 

 was sown with this grain. I heard from Hood that two parties 

 had expressed a willingness to take Bedingham if we could 

 come to terms. I shall decline their offers with thanks, as, after 

 the expense and labour of bringing this farm into condition, I 

 do not care to run the risk of its ruin at the hands of a yearly 

 tenant. 



This morning there fell a very heavy dew — indeed, as I walked 

 down to bathe in the Waveney, about half-past seven, everything 

 was drenched with it, and the feel of the air was quite autumnal. 



