206 HENRY HILL GOODELL 



thick, of the toughest wood, and studded on the under side 

 with sharp flints. The edges of these flints, after being 

 driven into the socket chiseled out for them, are trimmed 

 sharp; and thus completed it makes a most savage-looking 

 implement. Seated on this, with a long pole to prevent 

 the bundles from riding up over the bow, the driver urges 

 on his bullocks. As it goes round and round the area, it cuts 

 and bruises the straw fine, and this, with the chaff, takes the 

 place of hay for cattle-feed in the East. The threshing 

 process over, there are two raking operations : one to clear 

 off the coarse straw not good for food; this is piled up as 

 worthless chaff to be burned. Then follows a skillful raking 

 off of the finer straw without taking up the wheat. After 

 being passed through sieves, which let the wheat and chaff 

 pass through but retain the coarser stuff, it is ready for 

 the winnowing. This is accomplished by tossing the wheat 

 high into the air, from shovels made of beech, with long, 

 elastic handles, to allow the breeze to carry off the lighter 

 particles. Two more sif tings, in sieves of different-sized 

 meshes, complete the operation. 



The wheat thus cleaned looks well, but oh, the labor! 

 Thousands and thousands of bushels are injured or destroyed 

 annually by the rains before the threshing is over; for at 

 best, even with several threshing-floors, it will take a num- 

 ber of weeks for all in the village to have their turn. Efforts 

 have been made from time to time to introduce more per- 

 fect machines, but the attempt has always been viewed 

 with distrust by the natives, and dark hints have been 

 mysteriously circulated of the agency of the Evil One. We 

 all remember the story of the opposition to the penny post 

 in London, and how it was denounced by the long-headed 



