BookV. mixed operations by manual labour. 517 



Forfarshire, and in some other parts of the north of Scotland, reaping is performed by 

 the threave, which consists of twenty-four sheaves. By this practice it is the interest of 

 the reapers to cut as close as possible, because they know, that the lower ends of the 

 stalks fill the sheaf better than tJie upper parts. 



3181. Pulling is a mode of taking a crop applicable chiefly to flax and hemp. These 

 are pulled in handfuls, the earth beat and slaaken from their roots, and after the handfuls 

 have lain a day or more separately, they are collected together and tied in bundles. In 

 the case of hemp, it being a dioecious plant, the male stalks are pulled some weeks before 

 tlie others. Dry weather is preferable for the operation. 



3182. Digging up or forking up is occasionally resorted to for taking crops of roots, 

 as potatoes, carrots, &c. In performing this operation, the principal thing is to avoid 

 cutting or bruising the joots with the spade or fork, and to separate the roots from the soil 

 by first lifting up the spitful and then throwing it down in such a way as to break and 

 scatter it, and bring to light the roots or tubers. When crops of this sort are planted 

 in rows, they are frequently raised by a plough, the coulter being withdrawn. 



Sect. IV. Mixed Operations performed by Manual Labour. 



3183. The mixed agricultural operations differ little from the last as to the skill or 

 strength required in the operator : they are chiefly ropemaking, thatching, turning 

 straw or hay, drawing or sorting straw, flail-threshing, hedging and ditching, weigh- 

 ing, measuring, stack-building, sheep-shearing, paring and burning turf, burning clay, 

 and forming compost soils or manures. 



3184. Straw rope making is an operation which requires two persons when performed 

 in the usual manner with a crook. {Jig. 222.) In this case the person who forms the rope 

 is stationary, and the twister moves from him backwards the length of the rope ; but if 

 the crook is turned by machinery, as, for example, by a movement from a threshing 

 machine, or by a detached machine turned by hand [Jig. 223.), then the person who 

 forms the rope moves backwards as he lets out the material to be twisted. These sorts of 

 ropes are commonly made of oat or rye straw ; but they are also formed of coarse hay or 

 rushes, long moss, ferns, &c. In all cases the material requires to be moistened and 

 thoroughly mixed together before it is made use of by the ropemaker. 



3185. Thatching is the operation of covering the roofs of buildings, stacks, &c. with 

 some sort of thatch. It is an art that requires considerable care, attention, and practice, 

 to perform it in a proper manner. Before this business is begun, it is necessary that 

 the materials, of whatever kind they may be, should undergo some preparation. With 

 articles of the straw kind the usual method is this : the substances, after being well 

 moistened with water, are drawn out in handfuls perfectly straight and even, into regular 

 lengths, and the short straw separated from them, leaving them placed in convenient 

 bundles to be carried to the thatcher by the person who has the serving of him. 



3186. The application of thatch to stacks of hay or corn is performed by different 

 methods, according to the nature of the materials employed. Where long straw is made 

 use of, the operator or workman usually begins at the eaves or bottom of the roof, deposit- 

 ing it in handfuls in regular breadths till he reaches the top, the different handfuls 

 being so placed endwise as to overlap each other, the upper ends being constantly 

 pushed a little into the bottom parts of the sheaves. In this manner he gradually 

 proceeds, breadth after breadth, till the whole of the roof is covered, which is usually 

 done to the thickness of about four or five inches. In order to retain the thatch in its 

 place, short sharp-pointed sticks are sometimes thrust in, in a slanting direction up- 

 wards, and sometimes small sticks sharpened at the ends are bent and thrust in along 

 the top parts and sides : but as the water is apt to follow the course of the sticks, it is a 

 better practice to make use of ropes of twisted straw for this purpose. In some cases 

 these are applied only round the bottom parts of the roof and the sides ; while in others, 



515 which is a much better and more secure method, they are applied in such 



a manner over the whole stacks, as to form a sort of net or lozenge work 

 of nine or twelve inches in width in the meshes {fg. 515.), the ends 

 being well fastened either to the sides of the stack under the eaves, or to 

 a rope carried round in that situation on purpose to fasten them to. This 

 method of tying on the thatch should always be had recourse to where 

 the stackyards are greatly exposed to the effects of wind, as without 

 such precautions much injury and loss may frequently be sustained 

 by the farmer. It is in common use in Northumberland and north- 

 wards. 



3187. In the application of stubble as a thatch for ricks, it is mostly put on by sticking 

 one of its ends into the roof of the stack in a regular and exact manner, so that it may 

 stand very close and thick ; when the other, with such loose straws as may occur, is to 

 be cut over or pared off with the thatching knife, or a very sharp tool for the purpose, so 



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