64 ON THE THRASHING-MACHINE. 



to mention tlie original cost of an engine and its appur- 

 tenances. And, in the second place, this being- more a 

 grazing- than a corn-growing- district, the qixantity of grain 

 annually g-rown on individual farms, of even the larg-est 

 extent, would hardly warrant the erection of a steam-driven 

 thrashing--machine. This ag-ent, being' vastly superior to 

 horse-power, is g-enerally preferred and employed in localities 

 (such as the Lothians and Berwickshire) abounding- with 

 extensive farms, where coal is abundant and cheap, and 

 where a very larg-e quantity of grain has annually to be 

 thrashed and prepared for market; but in Aberdeenshire 

 neither of these conditions can be said to exist. The steam- 

 en^ne is, of course, both inaccessible to, and unnecessary for, 

 small farmei-s ; and to use it with economy, even on larg-e 

 possessions, it is requisite to continue the operation of 

 thrashing- throughout a whole day at a time ; which in 

 g'eneral is neither convenient nor necessary in this part of 

 the country. Thei*e are at present, I understand, no more 

 than five thrashing--niachines in Aberdeenshire impelled bj 

 steam. 



The expense of thrashing- and dressing' gTain per quarter 

 varies according- to the nature of the motive force employed, 

 the power of the machine, the quality of the crop, and other 

 obvious circumstances. Water, where it can be procured in 

 sufficient quantity for the purpose, constitutes by far the 

 most convenient and economical impelling ag-ent. A most im- 

 portant advantage attending- the employment of water-driven 

 machines is, that by them the greater proportion of the crop 

 may be, and in Aberdeenshire g-enerally is, thrashed and 

 dressed in the winter mornings, before the labours of the 

 field could be commenced. The common practice is this : — 

 A part of the barn having- been previously filled with sheaf- 

 corn from the stack, the thrashing- is prosecuted for an hour 

 or more every morning;, beginning- about five o'clock, and 

 leaving- off at break of day; the servants then breakfast, 

 groom their horses, and begin the ordinary out-of-door busi- 

 ness of the farm. The adoption of this arrangement obviates 

 the necessity of stopjnng the ploughs during the usual hours 

 of labour for the purpose of thrashing- — an advantage which 

 it is impossible to secure when horse-power is employed. 

 In order to illustrate the actual and relative expense of 

 thrashing and dressing- grain in Aberdeenshire by the dif- 

 ferent methods usually practised, I shall here introduce 

 separate statements of the cost of the process by water, 



