202 BRITISH HUSBANDRY. [Ch. XIV. 



shutters on each side must be closed in order to take off part of the force of the wind 

 from the fan-blower, (which would otherwise be stronj; enough to blow out the, seeds,) 

 the two fine sieves put into the sieve frame, and the skreens covered with the board to 

 prevent the seed falling through, iu order that the fair may again act upon the seed 

 while it runs down the board. — The corn and seeds, to be perfectly well dressed, should 

 be twice passed through the machine. 



Tlieir interior construction, however, admits of various modifications, and 

 tliey are in many instances very imperfectly formed by country carpenters. 

 Our readers may, however, find a very minute description of tlie best ma- 

 chinery, together with plates, both in Low's Elements of Agriculture, and 

 in the third volume of tlie Quarterly Journal of Agriculture ; to which we 

 I'efer, without further detail, as tlie machines can only be made by prac- 

 tised artisans. Messrs. Weir, of London, have made some valuable im- 

 provements on them ; and we have lately seen one made by Mr. Cooch, 

 of Harlston, near Northampton, — who is also a practical farmer — which 

 is much approved of in that part of the country, and appears to possess 

 considerable merit. The cost of that depicted above is ten guineas ; but 

 thev varv, according to workmanship, from that to twentv ; and we are 

 informed that those in common use throughout the north of England, 

 thou"h very perfect in their operation, yet cost only about five pounds. 



MARKETING. 



It is well known to corn-dealers that all grain shrinks when held for any 

 great length of time in the warehouse; and although it may weigh some- 

 thing more per bushel, yet this additional value gained in quality by no 

 means repavs the loss in measure. Farmers do not generally advert to this, 

 because they seldom thrash out their corn mitil they mean to send it to 

 market ; but there can be little doubt that a considerable difference may iii 

 most cases be found to exist between the measurement of grain imme- 

 diately after harvest, and during the following spring and summer months; 

 of which the following instance is related in the Mid-Lothian Survey : — 



" The farmer bv whom the trial was made, took every third stook 

 from a field containing- 120 stocks of oats; and having immediately 

 thrashed them, the 40 stocks produced 8 bolls, and 6 pecks of good 

 grain, with 2 pecks of refuse. The 80 stooks remaining — which at 

 the same rate should have ()roduced 16 bolls 3 (irlots — were stacked, 

 and not thrashed until the following April, when the produce was only 

 10 bolls 3 firlots of good grain, and 6 pecks of refuse : being a loss of 

 about 6 in 17, or nearly 3.5 per cent, in measure, with an increase of 

 only 2 lbs. per boll in weight ; and this without any loss by vermin." 

 In meaHuring grain for market, it has been acutely remarked by a late 

 writer, " that there is an art, of which those who do not know it would never 

 conjecture the importance. It is found by experience, that when a bushel is 

 filled at once, it can be filled with a less quantity than when it is filled by 

 deg-rees with small quantities : wherefore, the bushel should not be heaped 

 up high above its rim ; nor shoidd the grain be forcibly poured into it ; nor 

 should a commotion be allowed on the barn-floor — particularly if it is a 

 wooden one — when the corn is being measured. There is no trick or un- 

 fairness in a farmer taking these advantages when in his power; for, if he 

 takes the ordinary means to fill the measure, he is not obliged to press or 

 tramp the grain into it. The difference in the measurement of grain, like 

 the shrinkage of it in the stack, must however depend, we presume, very 

 much upon the quality of the grain and the state in which it has been har- 

 vested: good, plump, dry grain must both measure its quantity more cer- 

 tainly, and shrink less, than ill-filled hungry stuff*." 



■■'■' Quart. Jomn. of Agric. N. S. vol. iii. p. 993. 



