140 



L. ace *. Where coal can be had at a moderate ex- 

 pence, some would reckon steam superior even to water > 

 but as fire is always a dangerous enemy to straw, and 

 farm- servants often careless, it may be sometimes at- 

 (.1 with risk. 



2. Advantages of*fljresl>ing-mills. 



It is impossible to form an adequate idea of the ad- 

 vantages which, have been derived from this important 

 invention, without considering the manner in which 

 threshing had been previously performed. There were 

 two methods adopted for that purpose. The first was 

 by a person who contracted to thresh the grain, giving 

 twenty-four parts to the farmer, and reserving one twen- 

 ty-fifth part to himself: The second method was, to hire 

 a man to thresh the grain, at i s. 3 d, per boll. Both 

 these modes evidently furnished an inducement to thresh 

 the grain in a slovenly, rather than in a perfect manner ; 

 for the more labour that was bestowed on die threshing, 

 the less was the profit derived from it. The mischief 

 was, that by these methods, every part of the business 

 was a distinct process. In the first place, as many hands 

 were collected to bring in the stack, and to build it into 

 one end of the barn, as would, with the advantage of a 

 mill, bring in, thresh, and clean the o.ne half of it, in the 

 bame time -, next, the tasker had to take it from the 

 mow, (as it is called), to lay it on the floor, to shake it 

 well, and then to thresh it ; and when each floor is 

 threshed, he must put the straw out of his way ; twice 

 every day at least, he had to gather what corn he had 



Communication from Mr Brown of Cononsyth. Mr 

 Freeman in Oxfordshire has erected a very large steam 

 thresh ing-mill. 



