196 BRITISH HUSBANDRY. [Ch. XIV. 



ulieat straw, of tlie touf^liest kind, and with tlie cars cut off, sliould be 

 prepared in equal lengths* ; which, since the introduction ot'thrasliing mills, 

 is a more diflicult matter than formerly, and the only remedy, when the 

 straw is short or broken, is to thicken the covering. 



" In htying on the thatch, the thatcher stands upon a ladder resting on 

 the sloping conical roof of the rick, as near as he can to the eaves, and lays 

 on the thatch in liandsful, from slieaves placed within his reach. He thrusts 

 tlie inner end of his handful of thatch, gathered into a neck or wisp, into the 

 butts of the sheaves, and s})reads out the lower end like a fan, overhanging- 

 the eaves ; then covering as much of these as he can reach at arm's length, 

 he works upwards, causing each successive handful to overlap that imme- 

 diately below ; and he thus covers the roof in triangular jjortions, till lie 

 lias gone round the whole backwards, that lie may avoid treading on his 

 work. When he has reached the top of all, he lays a considerable thickness 

 of short straw upon the crown, over which a straw-rope is carried ])erj)en- 

 dicularly, dividing the roof into two equal sections. He then covers this 

 top])ing of short straw with long thatch drawn to a point at the summit, and 

 ties the upper end of this with a small straw-rope into a peak ; giving this 

 last part the appearance of an umbrella." 



" With the aid of two assistants on the ground, while he remains aloft on 

 the ladder, so as to be able to reach the top with his hands, the thatcher 

 now places a number of well-twisted ropes of tough oat- straw to lace down 

 the cover and secure the thatch. Tiiese obliquely embrace the roof in the 

 lozenge fashion, and are fixed below, either to the butts of the sheaves, or 

 to a belt-rope firmly bound round the body below the eaves t". If the ropes 

 slacken, as they necessarily will do when the stack is compressed by its 

 weight, care must be used to retie them ; and in this manner the corn may 

 be secured under the severest tempests : neatness in the building is, how- 

 ever, necessary to the security of the stack, and if this be neglected, it may 

 be endangered. 



An improvement upon these corn-ricks has been made by the construc- 

 tion of Skeleton Barns, as shown in the following page. Upon a timber 

 platform, raised upon capped stones, the frame of a perfect barn is erected — ■ 

 ends, sides, and roof; and this is either substantially thatclied, or tiled. 

 The advantages of this over the common ricks consist in the saving of the 

 annual expense of thatching, and the superior security which it affords 

 from the contingencies of bad weather at the time of harvest ; for the corn 

 may be deposited there in such quantities as may be most convenient, and 

 all is perfectly safe. The barn may likewise be finally filled up to the top, 

 or not, as occasion may require, the grain being at all events equally 

 secure, and the side wings may be either occasionally used as shelter 

 under which the waggons may be unloaded, or constantly as cart-sheds ; or 

 else, if the platform be laid on, the wings may be filled up with corn. The 

 cost of erection is trifling in comparison with the convenience which such 

 a building affords ; for the frame may be made with rough timber, and the 

 thatch, being free from the attacks of vermin, has been known to last, when 

 well put on, upwards of thirty years J. 



* The corn should not, in that case, be thrashed in the straw. "Ear-pitching" is the 

 provincial term for this management, and the sheaves thus prepared are called " reed- 

 sheaves." They make a more durable covering than any other kind of straw; and the 

 thatch is of superior neatness. The circumference of the sheaf at the band should be 

 six feet, the weight 5Glhs. ; and a dozen sheaves will cover a stjuare of 100 feet. Sur- 

 vey of Somersetsliire, 3rd edit. N. p. 9S. 



f Gen. Rep. of Scotland, vol. i. p. 394. 



J Survey of Essex, vo!. i. p. 48. 



