REAPING. 



REAPING MACHINE. 



for they build their nests under the floors and 

 in the roofs of barns, nor are even the stacks ex- 

 empt; and are so prolific that, if not destroyed, 

 they occasion incalculable mischief. It there- 

 fore behooves every farmer to use all possible 

 means to check the evil, and one might suppose 

 that every exertion was invariably made for 

 that purpose; yet we constantly find homesteads 

 overrun with these pests, without any other 

 pains being taken than an occasional rat-hunt 

 by farm servants, aided by a terrier, which, 

 though not to be neglected, is a very ineffectual 

 remedy. The best is, unquestionably, the con- 

 struction of the barn-floor and roof in such a 

 manner as to prevent them obtaining a perma- 

 nent harbour in the building. The next is, be- 

 fore the entire clearance of the barn, while yet 

 a little corn remains to prevent them from 

 quitting it, to close every part of the barn, by 

 carefully covering any holes there may be with 

 sacks and tarpaulings, so as to prevent all ac- 

 cess of the outward air, leaving only the door 

 for a few minutes open while the process is 

 going on. This done, some common iron 

 chafing-dishes, which may be purchased for a 

 trifle, should be placed upon the floor, and in 

 the bags ; or, if they cannot be had, build up 

 a few bricks, clay, or any rubbish that will 

 secure a fire from spreading, leaving a cavity 

 in the centre, and filling it up with charcoal. 

 Then light the charcoal from the bottom, and 

 when the heaps are all burning, quickly strew 

 a good quantity of broken brimstone upon the 

 top ; retire immediately, shut the door fast, and 

 leave the building entirely closed during a 

 couple of days following. On opening it, the 

 greater portion of the rats and mice will be 

 found dead around the charcoal ; and, although 

 some may have been suffocated while in their 

 holes, and if not discovered will occasion an 

 unpleasant smell until their remains are dried 

 up, yet it will not last long. The operation 

 should be again repeated just previous to har- 

 vest, and if any opening be found into the 

 barns while they are full, by the burrowing of 

 the rats, brimstone matches should be inserted 

 into them before they are stopped up. Traps 

 and poisons are only partially efficient; but an 

 effectual mode of trapping is detailed in a small 

 pamphlet, published some years ago by Mr. B. 

 Broad, of Thurton, under the sanction of the 

 Hereford Agricultural Society, which ought to 

 be in the hands of every farmer in the kingdom. 



The ferret is a decided enemy to the rat, and 

 if kept in a hutch or cage, and only occasion- 

 ally used, will be found very serviceable : but 

 he should be well fed to induce him to return, 

 or otherwise he will escape and become de- 

 structive to poultry. A cat or two should also 

 always be reared about a barn. In new barns 

 and outhouses, the entrance of rats is effectu- 

 ally prevented by steeping the joints, rafters, 

 and flooring in a solution of corrosive subli- 

 mate. If a rat or a mouse attempt to gnaw 

 wood so prepared, their saliva moistens the 

 sublimate, they take it into the stomach, and 

 are so destroyed by it. See MICE and VERMIN. 



REAPING. Cutting down wheat or other 

 corn, grain, or pulse with a sickle, hook, or 

 scythe, or by a reaping-machine. These ope- 

 rations are more advantageouslv performed 

 944 



when the corn or pulse is not quite ripe, than 

 when it is thoroughly ripe ; because, in the 

 latter case, the seeds are apt to drop out in the 

 process of handling, turning, and drying. 



Mr. Hannum enters into some elaborate cal- 

 culations on the advantages of reaping wheat 

 a fortnight before it is ripe, from which he 

 deduces the following results ; that, independ- 

 ently of a gain of 4 per cent, on the value of 

 the grain, we have, 1st, straw of a better qua- 

 lity; 2dly, a better chance of securing the 

 crop ; and, 3dly, a saving in securing it. (See 

 WHEAT.) The smaller the sheaves are, the 

 better, especially in a wet harvest: ingenera), 

 the diameter of the sheaf should not exceed 30 

 inches. It is of some importance, also, not to 

 tie the sheaves too near the ears. In making 

 the shocks, they should be placed across the 

 furrows, in order to procure a free circulation 

 of air around them. 



In some districts in England, the scythe has 

 of late years been partially employed for the 

 purpose of reaping, but with no satisfactory 

 result ; and in Berwickshire the scythe-hook is 

 now generally used in preference to the toothed 

 sickle of our fathers. Cutting corn with a 

 sickle of some sort is, however, considered 

 preferable to mowing it with a scythe, unless 

 the crop stands up well, and time presses. 

 Barley and oats may be frequently mown with 

 advantage; but wheat, which requires imme- 

 diate and clean binding, and is too valuable to 

 admit of any irregularities or wastefulness in 

 harvesting, should be reaped. The mode of 

 reaping called bagging, and practised a good 

 deal about London, and part of the west of 

 England, is thus executed : The left leg being 

 pushed into the standing corn, and the straw 

 inclined with the left hand over the left foot, is 

 then cut close to the bottom with a stroke from 

 the right hand. The increase of straw, where 

 this is valuable, renders this a good method of 

 reaping. 



In England the mode of reaping varies with 

 the nature of the crop. Barley and oats are 

 generally cut with the scythe, beans with the 

 sickle ; peas with what are called fagging- 

 hooks, which rather tear up than cut; and 

 tares in the same way. 



Reaping is a great part of the expense of a 

 crop. The average price in England is from 

 12s. to 15s. an acre. See BANDS, BARLEY, HAR- 

 VESTING, WHEAT, &c. 



REAPING-HOOK. An implement used to 

 cut down corn. It is one of the oldest instru- 

 ments employed in husbandry. There are two 

 kinds of hooks; that which is principally used 

 by the British labourer has a smooth blade of 

 wrought iron and steel, about 25 inches long, 

 and curved nearly to a semicircle ; the other, 

 which is universally preferred by the Irish 

 reaper, has a finely serrated edge, and towards 

 the lower point recedes from the curved direc- 

 tion to nearly a straight line. The real action 

 of the reaping-hook is that of a saw, conse- 

 quently the serrated edge is an advantage. See 

 SICKLE. 



REAPING MACHINE. A contrivance for 

 the purpose of reaping grain by means of ani- 

 mal labour. With this view, and to facilitate 

 an operation of such importance to the farmer. 



