London to John O Groat's. 199 



grain, bends it downward, and with the other strikes it 

 close to the ground, as we cut Indian corn. With the 

 left-hand hook and arm, he carries on the grain from 

 the inside to the outside of the swath or " work," 

 making three or four strokes with the cutting knife ; 

 then, at the end, gathers it all up and lays it down 

 in a heap for binding. This operation is called 

 " bagging." It does not do the work so neatly as the 

 sickle, and is apt to pull up many stalks by the roots 

 with the earth attaching to them, especially at the last, 

 outside stroke. 



I was struck with the economy adopted by my host in 

 loading, carting and stacking or ricking his grain. The 

 operation was really performed like clockwork. Two or 

 three men were stationed at the rick to unload the carts, 

 two in the fields to load them, and several boys to lead 

 them back and forth to the two parties. They were all 

 one-horse carts, and so timed that a loaded one was 

 always at the rick and an empty one always in the field ; 

 thus keeping the men at both ends fully employed from 

 morning until night, pitching on and pitching off; 

 while boys, at 6d. or 8d. a day, led the horses. 



On passing through the stables and housings for 

 stock, I noticed a simple, yet ingenious contrivance for 

 watering cattle, which I am not sure I can describe 

 accurately enough, without a drawing, to convey a 



