AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS. 249 



prepared for the purpose by setting in a circle in the ground 

 posts ten or twelve feet high, and binding to these posts 

 long poles with strips of green hide, which, when dried, 

 held like straps of iron. 



When this was completed, a drove of wild horses to the 

 number of a hundred was brought in by the stockmen, and 

 turned into the corral to trample out the wheat. These were 

 kept in lively motion by the Indians, round and around the 

 outer limit of the corral. After driving them in this direc- 

 tion a sufficient length of time, the order would be given to 

 turn them, to tread the straw in a different direction ; and 

 then comes the acme of excitement. A hundred frightened 

 horses are dashing around, and a hundred ragged redskins 

 attempt to turn them ; the horses kicking, biting, squealing, 

 plunging, — the Indians, in the perilous endeavor to throw 

 themselves in front, whooping, yelling and swinging their 

 clubs in frantic endeavor to turn this mass of wild horse- 

 flesh, with sometimes an Indian down and sometimes a horse, 

 but finally successful ; all making a wild scene of life, never 

 witnessed except in California, and seldom there. 



Of threshing-machines — among the most necessary of 

 our agricultural implements, from its importance as a 

 means of economizing both labor and time — the first practi- 

 cal invention was by Andrew Meikle of Scotland, in 1786, 

 which is the type of all modern machines. The winnower 

 was added in 1800. Samuel Mulliken was the first Ameri- 

 can inventor, in 1791. In threshing-machines as well as 

 in reapers, the American inventors, though subsequent to the 

 English in their original principles, far excelled their breth- 

 ren across the water in making improvements, rendering 

 them much more convenient and practical in their operation. 

 The American machines are much lighter than the English, 

 much easier handled and run, much cheaper, and thresh 

 more than twice as much grain, and clean it better; which 

 was proved at a trial on Mechis' farm in 1853, at Tiptre 

 Hall, in England. About 10,000 are annually made. 



Having traced the excellent modern machines and imple- 

 ments for raising and securing the farmers' crops and sepa- 

 rating the seed from the straw, the next valuable instru- 

 ment which deserves attention is the winnowing-machine, or 



