92 INSTRUMENTS OF HUSBANDRY. 



the straw by the flail, was formerly so great, that a re- 

 spectable farmer in the Carse of Gowrie calculates, that, 

 to his certain knowledge, it was equal to the expence 

 of keeping all the work-horses on his farm,* and the loss 

 was so insufferable, that the farmer was afraid to go from 

 home, for the eight months in the year during which 

 the threshing lasted. f It is not only of importance, its 

 being ione in a much more perfect manner, but also, 

 that it can be executed much more expeditiously,:}: in so 

 much, that advantage may be taken of any sudden de- 

 mand ; a scarce market may be supplied ; a stack of from 

 30 to 40 bolls may with ease be threshed in a day, and 

 sent to market, or to the miller; and all this may be done, 

 during weather when the other farming operations must 

 be at a stand. 3. It has been well observed by Mr Brown 

 of Markle, that if in the large farms of East Lothian, 

 hand labour were to be used for separating corn frorn 



* There is now no risk from foul threshing, as every farmer can distin- 

 guish, in a few minutes, whether the work is properly done or not ; but by 

 the flail, he was almost always at the mercy of the thresher, who grew 

 so weary of so tedious an employment, that it is not to be wondered at 

 he should execute it in a slovenly manner. Besides, the labour was an 

 unwholesome employment, from the dust it was apt to raise, and those 

 who worked at it seldom lived long. In short, numbers of the farm 

 servants were, in former times, actually destroyed, by working in the 

 barns. 



f A tasker (thresher) being once severely threatened for foul thresh- 

 ing, very calmly answered, " I'm sure ye'l nae find hail sheaves among 

 the strae," a poor consolation to the unfortunate farmer, whose inte- 

 rests were thus so deeply affected. 



I Once putting it through the hand-fanners, completes it either for 

 the mill, or the merchant, and a stack can be threshed out, cleaned, 

 sacked, delivered, and might almost be ground, and baked into bread, 

 in one and the same day. 



