HAR 



HAW 



" It may be admitted as a general i pointing downward, will not long re- 



Tule in reaping, to cut the straw as 

 near to the ground as possible : this 

 is best done by an instrument called 

 a cradle scythe, which mows the straw, 

 and collects it so as to be readily 

 gathered into sheaves. 



" The Hainault scythe has a very 

 short handle, and is used with one 

 hand, while the other collects the 

 straw into a sheaf by means of a large 

 hook at the end of a wooden rod. It 

 is a most useful instrument, and great- 

 ly preferable to the fagging-hook ; it 

 cuts more straw at each stroke, and 

 is less fatiguing to the reaper, be- 

 cause his position is nearly upright 

 when he uses it. In many places it 

 is not usual to tie up any corn into 

 sheaves, except rye, wheat, and beans. 

 Barley and oats are usually mown, 

 raked into heaps, and carried into the 

 stack or barn when dry, like hay ; but 

 this is a slovenly practice, which 

 should not be recommended. With 

 good tillage and proper manuring the 

 straw of barley and oats will be strong, 

 and of sufficient length to require be- 

 ing tied up into sheaves ; and much 

 less of the grain is shaken out and 

 lost in this way than by the usual 

 method. 



" In rainy seasons it frequently 

 happens that the sheaves remain a 

 long time in the field before they are 

 sufficiently dry to be carried and 

 stacked. If the ears are not secured 

 from the wet, they become soaked, 

 and the grain sprouts in the ear. 

 This is a great loss ; for sprouted 

 grain is very inferior, and can only 

 be sold at a low price. A little atten- 

 tion will often prevent the bad effect 

 of rains. In some places six or eight 

 sheaves are set up in a circle, with 

 the butt-ends diverging, so as to admit 

 the air to circulate among them ; a 

 sheaf is opened by spreading out the 

 ears, and is placed, inverted, over the 

 ears which lean against each other, 

 forming a truncated cone. Thus the 

 butt-end of the top sheaf is the only 

 part in which the rain can lodge ; 

 and the first sunshine will soon dry 

 this : the rain runs off the sides of 

 the inverted sheaf, and the ears, 

 360 



tain the wet. 



" When the stack is building, the 

 butts of the sheaves are placed out- 

 ward, and project gradually over the 

 sides of the frame, and over one an- 

 other, so as to build the stack in the 

 form of a bowl, with a cone or pyra- 

 mid over it, according as the frame 

 is round or square ; this is carefully 

 thatched with straw, and the outer 

 surface is cut smooth by means of 

 shears. This not only saves all the 

 ears which chance to lie outward, 

 and which would have become the 

 prey of birds, but it also prevents the 

 rain from beating into the stack and 

 injuring the corn. It may then be 

 considered as safe. 



" Where there are no raised frames, 

 and the stack is built on the ground, 

 or on a bottom made of fagots to 

 keep it dry, a belt of plastering or 

 stucco is sometimes laid, a foot wide, 

 round the stack, about 18 inches from 

 the ground, after the surface has been 

 cut quite smooth and even. This 

 contrivance is intended to prevent 

 the rats from lodging in the stack, 

 and it is very effective. A frame 

 made entirely of iron, and supported 

 upon iron columns, has lately been 

 invented. It may readily be taken to 

 pieces and put together again when 

 it is wanted. The advantage of it 

 is, that it is cheaper and more easily 

 moved than any other, and it is very 

 convenient for a temporary purpose." 

 —(W. L. Rham.) 



HASTATE. A descriptive term in 

 botany : shaped like the old halbert. 

 HATCHEL. A carding-comb or 

 hackle. 



HAUGH. Meadow or pasture land. 

 HAUSTELLATES. Insects fur- 

 nished with a proboscis for suction. 

 HAWK. The genus Fa/co. They 

 prey upon birds. Martens and crows 

 are remarkable enemies to the hawk . 

 species. 



HAULM. The stalks of pease and 

 beans, chiefly. 



HAWTHORN. Mcspilus oxyacan- 

 tha. This thorny shrub or small tree 

 is also called whitethorn. May, and 

 quickset. It is abundantly used in 



