166 
Steam Power and Thrashing Machines. 
thrashing six men and two boys — one man and boy at the stack, 
one stout lad emptying carts, one man untying sheaves, one 
feeder, one man in straw-barn, one engineer, and one boy shovel- 
ling corn away from dressing-machine. The engineer or the mau 
who attends to the straw can generally for a minute or two at 
intervals look to the corn-barn. As, however, two men and a 
boy would be required to cart in the straw to the yards, if thrashed 
out of doors, that number of hands may fairly be kept out of the 
account of cost of thrashing. The number of hands required 
when the corn is in, then, amounts to four men and one boy, 
unless, which rarely happens, more than one day's thrashing takes 
place at a time, when two men are required at the straw. When 
thrashing out of doors with a hired machine, I found by experience 
that, including interruptions, the corn thrashed did not average 
more than 20 quarters per day, but for thrashing indoors an 
average of 25 quarters may very fairly be taken ; because, firstly, 
you will be more secure from such interruptions ; and secondly, 
because a broken day, instead of being a serious hindrance to the 
work of the farm, may often be an accommodation, and provide 
work under cover for hands that would otherwise not find profit- 
able employment : — 
Estimate of Cost of Fixed Engine for Thrashing per day and per quarter, 
aUoimng 25 quarters per days thrashing on 20 days a year. 
£. s. d. 
Interest and depreciation on 2001., at 10 per cent., divided 
among 20 days 100 
Interest on outlay of 100?. for buildings for engine and 
machiue, at 7 per cent., 71., divided by 20 days .. .. 0 7 0 
3 men, at 2s. ; 1 man, at 2s. 6d. ; 1 boy, Gd 0 9 0 
6 cwt. coal, with carriage 070 
Oil 0 0 6 
£2 3 6 
Total cost 21. 3s. 6d., which, divided by 25, gives Is. Qd. per quarter. 
When thrashing more than a day at a time, the straw requires 
stacking, and of course more hands to attend to it : two hands 
untying may also be required in case of very short sheaves, or 
that loose corn may be properly shaken up. Seven hands are the 
fewest who can work the machine and take in and thrash at the same 
time. Four hands only are required to thrash when sufficient 
corn is in the barn for half a day's thrashing ; two hands can take 
in in a day enough for half a day's thrashing ; four hands are 
required to fill the barn for a whole day's thrashing, when the 
machine is not going. With a fixture all this may be varied, 
according to circumstances. In wet days or parts of days a great 
deal of thrashing may be done when the labourers could be occu- 
pied about nothing else. 
By the hired machine the cost per quarter was about 3s., by 
