SEPTEMBER. 291 



not yet withered and scorched by the frost, and its pretty 

 little white blossoms ; the bristling barley ; the full pods 

 depending from the tangled peas ; all the object of the 

 farmer's hopes, and the end of his ceaseless labpurs. " Thou 

 crownest the year with thy goodness, and thy paths drop 

 fatness. They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness, and 

 the little hills rejoice on every side. The pastures are clothed 

 with flocks ; the valleys also are covered over with corn ; 

 they shout for joy, they also sing." 



We have begun reaping wheat, as you see : when there 

 is an anticipation of bad weather, we have a mode of pro- 

 tecting the grain which, I believe, is not adopted in the 

 upper province, for want of which much is sometimes lost. 

 We put ten sheaves together, six to stand against each 

 other, in three pairs, and a single one at each end ; then 

 we take the two remaining ones, the largest having been 

 selected for this purpose, and opening the heads, draw them, 

 ears downward, over the ends of the standing ones, so as to 

 meet each other in the middle, covering all like caps (as in- 

 deed they are called). The projecting ears and straws of the 

 caps shoot off any rain, and protect the insides of the sheaves 

 from moisture. The caps are kept in their place, by a few of 

 the longest ears on each side of one being brought round the 

 other in a band, and tied. In fair weather, the bands are 

 untied, the caps taken off, and the sheaves opened a little with 

 the hand to admit the sun ; all being ready to put up again 

 in less than a minute. This whole bundle is called a stook. 



C. — I see a labourer cutting wheat with an instrument 

 called a cradle-scythe ; what advantage has this mode over 

 reaping ? 



F» — Many farmers doubt of any ; the grain is cut much 

 more quickly, but as it has to be raked together in bundles, 

 and to be bound by hand, there is little ultimate saving of 

 labour, and perhaps even this is counterbalanced by the num- 



o 2 



