Book V. OPERATIONS WITH PLANTS. 515 



often the case in moist meadows, it is liable to fall down and lodge, by which the same 

 effects are produced. 



3169. In cutting rouen or second crops of grass, more attention will be requisite than 

 in the first, as the crops are mostly much lighter and more difficult to cut, the scythe 

 being apt to rise and slip through the grass without cutting it fairly, except when in the 

 hands of an expert workman. Crops of this sort should always be cut as much as 

 possible when the dew is upon them, and as soon as ever there is a tolerable growth ; 

 as, by waiting, the season is constantly getting more unfavourable for making them 

 into hay ; and when not well made, this hay is of little or no value. When the grass 

 has been decided to be in the proper condition for being cut down, a set of mowers 

 proportioned to the extent of the crop should be immediately provided. In some 

 districts, it is the custom to pay these labourers by the day, but a better and more 

 general practice is to let the work at a certain price by the acre. The extent or propor- 

 tion of ground that can be mown in any given space of time must obviously vary mucli 

 according to the nature of the ground, the fulness of the crop, and the goodness of the 

 workman ; but in general an acre is supposed a full day's work for an expert mower. 



3 1 70. The mowing of weeds and coarse tussocks of grass -in pasture should take place 

 before they come into flower, or at all events before they ripen their seed. Bruising or 

 clipping with a sort of blunt wooden shears is considered preferable for ferns, thistles, 

 and nettles (3140.), as they are said not to spring up again the same season, which they 

 are apt to do if cut over with the clean cut of the scythe. 



3171 . The mowing of weeds in rivers and ponds is done in the usual way from a boat, 

 in which the operator stands, and is rowed forward by another as required. Sometimes 

 scythe-blades are tied or rivetted together, and worked by means of ropes like a saw from 

 one shore to the other ; but the first mode is generally reckoned the best, even in public 

 canals, and is unquestionably so in agriculture. 



3172. Tlie Hainault mowing is a process which is exclusively applicable to com crops ; 

 it has been long practised in Flanders, and though various attempts have been made at 

 different times and places to introduce it to this country, and notwithstanding the great 

 advantages promised, it is still little known. We have already described the implement, 

 and the mode of using it, and suggested reasons for its not being more generally 

 employed. (2479.) The breadths of corn cut at every stroke, are carried forward by 

 the joint operation of the blade and the hock, and collected at the left hand of the mower, 

 where he leaves them standing almost erect, but leaning to the left against the standing 

 corn. When as much is cut as will make a sheaf, the mov/er turns to the left so as to 

 face the standing corn, introduces his hook behind the middle of the leaning parcels, and 

 at the same time the scythe points near the bottom ; then mowing sideways to the left, 

 returning over tlie ground he has mown, he draws and collects the cut corn, still by means 

 of the hook and scythe preserving the erect position of the straw, to the place where the 

 last collecting operation ended ; then wheeling round to the left, with the hook still 

 embracing tlie middle of the whole cut corn, he stops the motion of the scythe, whilst the 

 hook still moves forward to the left, so as to overset the corn and lay it evenly along on the 

 stubble, with the ears towards the right, ready for the binder. In oversetting the col- 

 lected com he uses his left foot if necessary. The mower now advances to the front, 

 aiid commences the cuts for a new sheaf as before, always working towards the standing 

 corn and not from it 



3173. Reaping is the operation of cutting corn with the hook or sickle, the former 

 called provincially bagging, the latter shearing or reaping. The operation of reaping is 

 most general in the northern counties. The com is cut in handfuls with the sickle 

 (2481.), and these are immediately deposited upon bands, formed by twisting together a 

 few of the stalks of the corn at the ends next the ears, and afterwards bound up into 

 sheaves, in order to their being set up into shocks or hattocks. The method is in most 

 instances adopted with the wheat and rye crops in every part of the island, as it is difficult 

 to cut without much loss from the shedding of the grain ; and, in addition, it is of great 

 advantage to have these sorts of crops bound up regularly into sheaves, the straw being 

 much better. 



8174. In bagging, the operator hooks up the corn towards him, and then lays it on 

 bands as in reaping. By this mode corn is cut lower than by reaping with the sickle, 

 but rather more straws drop urdess great care is taken. 



3175. Sheaving and shocking, or, as termed in the north, binding and stooking, are 

 operations performed for the most part immediately after the corn is cut. In binding 

 it is tied up in sheaves or bundles by the bands already mentioned ; and in shocking or 

 stooking, the sheaves are set on end in pairs leaning against each other, and covered or 

 otherwise by what are called heading sheaves, laid on the upright ones so as to cover and 

 protect the ears from the weather, and act as a roof to the shock or stook. The number 

 of sheaves brought together in a stook, and even the modes of placing them, vary in dif- 



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