460 SCIENCE OF AGRICULTURE. Part II. 



places* In some it is the practice to have the business performed in as close a ma(!nner as 

 possible ; while in others a stubble of eight, ten, and fifteen inches or more is left. 

 These different practices having their advocates, one party supposing that the work 

 proceeds more slowly where it is executed in so close a manner, while the other contend 

 that the contrary is the case. But as the stubble which is left is not only useless to the 

 land, but in many cases very troublesome in its succeeding culture, being frequently 

 under the necessity of being removed, it would seem to be the best as well as cheapest 

 practice, to have the business constantly executed in a close manner. By this means the 

 agricultor will not only have more litter at command for the bedding of his yards, 

 stalls, and other places, and consequently an increase of manure, but with much less 

 waste of grain, and at the same time be freed from the trouble and expense of removing 

 the stubble. It has, indeed, been fully shown, by a careful trial, made with the view 

 of ascertaining the difference between high and low reaping, that the advantage is con- 

 siderably in favor of the latter. 



2942. The use of the sickle and the scythe in reaping grain crops have each their advan- 

 tages and disadvantages. In the first manner, the crops are deposited with more regula- 

 rity and exactness, and consequently bound into sheaves M'ith greater facility and despatch. 

 Besides, in many cases less loss is incurred by the shedding of the grain in the time the 

 work is performing ; but the labor is executed with greater difficulty and trouble. The 

 latter possesses the superiority of being more expeditious, and of being performed to any 

 degree of closeness that may be required ; while it has the evident disadvantage of 

 leaving the cut grain in a more irregular and uneven situation, by which it is rendered 

 less fit for being bound up into sheaves, which in many cases is an inconvenience of great 

 consequence. When the grain has attained a high degree of ripeness, tliere may, like- 

 wise, be great loss sustained, by its being shed during the operation, in this way of reaping 

 or cutting the crop. Where this method is practised, it is, however, not unfrequently 

 the case to have it bound into sheaves, though the more common custom is to let it 

 remain in the rows or swaths till fit for being put into the stack. When bound, it is 

 generally the practice to cut it inwards against the crop on which it rests. In the other 

 case, it is cut in the manner of grass for hay. It is obvious, therefore, that where 

 operators are procured with difficulty, this mode of reaping is the most advisable, while 

 under the contrary circumstances, the former may be had recourse to with more 

 advantage, as the work may be executed in a neater and more exact way. 



2943. Reaping, whatever mode be adopted, is often let hy the acre to persons that go about 

 for harvest work, and it may, in many cases, be best performed in this manner; but 

 great attention should be paid by the cultivator to see that the grain is cut and bound up 

 in a proper method, and that the work be not performed in improper weather. The 

 prices vary according to the nature of the crops, the season, and other circumstances. 



2944. Pulling is a mode of taking a crop, applicable chiefly to flax and hemp. These 

 are pulled in handfuls, the earth beat and shaken from their roots, and after the 

 handfuls have lain a day or more separately, they are collected together and tied in 

 bundles. In the case of hemp, it being a dioecious plant, the male stalks are pulled 

 some weeks before the others. Dry weather is preferable for the operation. 



2945. Digging up or forking up, is occasionally resorted to for taking crops of roots, 

 as potatoes, carrots, &c. In performing this operation, the principal thing is to avoid 

 cutting or bruising the roots with the spade or fork, and to separate the roots from the soil 

 by first lifting up the spitful and then throwing it down in such a way as to break and 

 scatter it , and bring to light the roots or tubers. When crops of this sort are planted in 

 rows, they are frequently raised by a plough, the coulter being withdrawn. 



Sect. IV. Mixed Operations j)erformed by Manual Labor, 



2946. The mixed agricultural operations diflPer little from the last as to the skill or 

 strength required in the operator : they are chiefly ropemaking, thatching, turning straw 

 or hay, drawing or sorting straw, flail- threshing, hedging and ditching, weighing, 

 measuring, stack-building, sheep-shearing, paring and burning turf, burning clay, and 

 forming compost soils or manures. 



2947. Strawrope making is an operation which requires two persons when performed 

 in the usual manner with a crook (2396.). In this case the person who forms the rope 

 is stationary, and the twister moves from him backwards the length of the rope ; but if 

 the crook is turned by machinery, as for example, by a movement from a thrasliing 

 machine, or by a detached machine turned by hand (2457.), then the person who 

 forms the rope moves backwards as he lets out the material to be twisted. These sorts of 

 ropes are commonly made of oat or rye straw ; but they are also formed of coarse hay or 

 rushes, long moss, ferns, &c. In all cases the material requires to be moistened and 

 thoroughly mixed together before made use of by the ropemaker. 



2948. Thatching is the operation of covering the roofs of buildings, stacks, &c. with 

 some sort of thatch. It is an art that requires considerable care, attention, and practice 



