Ch. XIV.] ON HARVEST. 139 



been lately made by Mr. Howard, of Melbourne, in his report of Scoreby, 

 to the following effect *. That when reaping is done by the acre, it is 

 very often imperfectly performed, in consequence of the persons employed, 

 who are generally strangers, wishing to make the most of the job ; to effect 

 which they take as large a grasp as possible near to the top of the corn ; 

 the consequence of which is, that it must be cut high and irregularly, and 

 much waste is thus occasioned. Added to this, to save trouble in the making 

 of bands, as much is compressed into one sheaf as it can possibly contain, 

 and the band is consequently drawn as tight as it will bear. If the weather 

 be favourable, a large and tight-bound sheaf will require to stand two days 

 longer than a small one before it is in a condition to stack ; or, if the 

 weather be wet, it must be opened and spread to the sun and air, and this 

 not only occasions much trouble, but is not unfrequently the cause of the 

 crop becoming sprouted through damp. In shearing by the acre, the 

 interests of the farmer and tlie labourer are thus in all respects at variance ; 

 and Mr. Howard, therefore, gets his corn cut by the stook. The straw 

 being considerably thicker near the root than at the top, it is the interest of 

 the shearer to cut it low, which ensures its being cut clean and of equal 

 lieight ; and as the sheaves are paid for by number, he of course will not make 

 them too large ; thus his interests are combined with those of his employer, 

 as the better he performs his work, the more money he will earn. If he 

 attempt to make the sheaves too small, this may be guarded against by the 

 simple expedient of using a light gauge, in the form of a prong, embracing 

 a sheaf of the proper size, or 33 inches in circumference at the band. 

 Another, and very great advantage, arises from the facility wliich this plan 

 affords of paying off all the persons employed according to the quantity of 

 work which they perform, whether individually or by the gang ; and from 

 the convenience of removing labourers from one field to another, without 

 the trouble of measuring the work which they have done in it. 



The sickle was fornijjrly the only implement employed for the reaping of 

 wheat, the scythe being then only applied to oats, and in some instances 

 barley. Of late years, however, it has come very much into use, and seems 

 to be gaining ground for the cutting down of every kind of corn ; except 

 the crop happens to be very much laid, or the ground very rough and 

 uneven. It is certainly an efficient tool when well managed ; but it 

 reduces the employment of women ; and, even among men, the operation 

 of mowing not only requires a degree of expertness which is not necessary 

 in reaping, but is also the hardest of all agricultural labour. 



The operation of mowing corn may be performed by the common 

 scythe, and that is the sort most generally used ; but it ought to be more 

 carefidly constructed than one fur common purposes. The blade should be 

 of well-tempered steel, strengthened by a plate of iron along the back ; it 

 should also be more than four feet in length, and fixed into a handle of 

 the lightest and the toughest wood, less curved than those in common use. 

 This will act with accuracy when the crops are heavy, for the corn will 

 then fall regularly over, but when they are light, it should be furnished 

 with a cradle attached to the lower part of the handle, for the purpose of 

 gathering the stems and laying down the swathe evenly. The cradle should be 

 made of three light and slim rods of the finest ash, of unequal length, the 

 uppermost about two feet long, but gradually diminishing, and fastened to 

 an upright stem strengthened by two upright rods which support them at 

 equal d 'stances, each about four inches in height, in this form — 



* See Reports of Select Farms in the Lirbaiy of Useful Knowledge : Farmer's Series. 

 No. 25. 



