CHAPTER XLVIII. 



THE HAINAULT SCYTHE— REAPING MACHINES. 



Upwards of half a century ago the attention of the 

 Society was called to the advantages of the mode of reap- 

 ing practised in Flanders and other parts of the Continent, 

 by means of the Flemish or Hainault scythe ; and an 

 arrangement was made by the Directors with John B. Dupre 

 and Louis Catteau, two respectable and intelligent young 

 farmers of Flanders, who agreed to come over for the pur- 

 pose of exhibiting its use in different districts of Scotland 

 during the harvest of 1825. In effecting this arrangement, 

 the Society was greatly aided by M. le Chevalier Masclet, 

 Consul General of France, who consented to accompany 

 the Flemings on their tour. The first experiment made 

 was on the 15th of August, upon the farm of Lochend, near 

 Edinburgh, occupied by the late Thomas Oliver. Arrange- 

 ments were made with various local associations (which 

 most readily contributed towards defraying the expense) ; 

 and between 15th August and 13th September the Flem- 

 ings exhibited the operation of their scythe in thirteen 

 counties — namely, Edinburgh, Haddington, Berwick, Rox- 

 burgh, Lanark, Renfrew, Stirling, Fife, Perth, Forfar, 

 Aberdeen, Elgin, and Inverness ; and the newspapers of 

 the day contain interesting reports of the proceedings. In 

 the report of the Society's Committee it is stated that a 

 reaper with the Flemish scythe can cut a quantity equal to 

 that cut by two good reapers with a sickle in the same 

 time ; and the saving by the use of the implement is 

 assumed at from one-fourth to one-third of the ordinary 

 expense of reaping by the sickle. But, notwithstanding the 

 favourable nature of the report, and the offer of premiums 

 by several local associations for its introduction, the Flemish 

 scythe never came into general use in Scotland. A drawing 

 of the scythe and hook will be found in the Transactions — 



