2QO 



When the crop is cut with a reaper and binder it is stacked in the 

 same way as described in the chapter on the hay harvest, and when 

 ready is carted in and stacked to await the arrival of the threshing 

 machine. The following remarks on thatching stacks are taken 

 from the Australasian Farmer : 



Covering the grain stacks is a course too often neglected, and 

 the loss resulting is considerable. All that has been said in regard 

 to the mistakes in producing grain and failing to save it, through 

 careless stacking, applies w r ith equal force to neglecting to provide 

 suitable covering from the weather. The mildness of the climate, 

 which encourages a careless system of stacking, results also in 

 insufficient attention being paid to covering the grain ricks. When 

 stacks are intended to stand only for a short time, they should be 

 well covered with rick cloths of tarpaulin, or other waterproof 

 material, as providing covers will be found cheaper than thatching ; 

 but in the case of stacks intended to stand throughout the winter, 

 thatching is the more profitable course. Rushes and tussock grass 

 are sometimes available for thatching, and can be used with 

 advantage, but straw, of which there should always be a sufficient 

 supply, answers the purpose well. The straw should be carefully 

 sorted out into bundles, and then put on by an experienced thatcher. 

 Begin at the eaves, and add tier after tier upon a section four or 

 five feet wide, until the top of the stack is reached. A quick method 

 is to lay on bundles, spread them out until the layer is about nine 

 inches thick, rake and pat down firmly, secure with straw rope or 

 hemp lashings to pegs, and proceed with the next tier, continuing 

 until the top is reached. But in the more complete system, the 

 thatcher takes small bundles, amounting to a good handful, and 

 places each in position singly. 



The top of the bundle is gathered into a point and inserted 

 under the straw or hay of the roof, the bottom spread out, raked, 

 and beaten down, and each section secured by ties as completed. 

 In putting in the pegs which secure the ties, they should be driven 

 slightly upward into the roof, so as not to lead water into the stack. 



The farmer who keeps a threshing machine of his own can 

 have this important operation carried out to his mind, but as 

 threshing is for the most part done by travelling machines worked 

 by contract, it is often difficult to prevent waste and loss. It is 

 frequently the contractor's main object to get through the work, 

 and it should be the fanner's aim to see that the work is properly 

 carried out. Frequent inspection of the straw will be necessary to 

 see that all the grain is being taken out, and the sprouts will also have 

 to be watched to see that the grain is not being cracked. Equal 

 supervision will be advantageous to ensure that the grain is properly 

 cleaned, and that it is not being blown away over the riddles. 

 The fanner will earn more money in attending to these things than 

 in trying to lill a man's place in pitching sheaves or hauling away 

 chaff. The system of threshing by contract adopted in the colonies 



