Harvesting the Seed of Boot-Crops. 
421 
fourths of the seed might fall out witli the greatest ease the 
remainder would be very obstinate. The threshing can only be 
carried out whilst the seed-pods are quite free from moisture, 
and there are few mornings sutliciently free from dew for a start to 
be made before 8 o'clock, whilst after heavy dews and mists thresh- 
ing cannot be commenced before noon. So susceptible is tlie seed- 
crop to moisture that the eflect of dew in the evening can be realised 
by the workers on the threshing-cloths before it can be felt by hand, 
or is shown on the shoes of those who are loading in the field. The 
threshing-day is therefore a limited one, and one of ten hours' 
duration is very exceptional. All available hands are gathered 
together as soon as a start is considered advisable, and a piece of 
ground is cleared of stumps and other inequalities, so that the 
threshing-cloths may be laid down. For a moderately large set, 
such as will be described below, two cloths, each 10 yards by 
12 yards, carefully sown together so as to retain all the seed, are 
firmly j^inned down with iron pins. It is necessary that the sheets 
should be stretched very tightly, or the forkings, rakings, and 
brushings will be rendered troublesome. 
The usual arrangement of hands is that there should be two sets 
of loaders in the field, each composed of two pitcliers and a lad to 
steady the load, whicli is not piled very high. All of it is laid 
inside the " raves " of the cart, or the seed would jolt out while in 
transit to the cloths. Large seed-growers provide special carts for 
carrying seed : these are made with long bodies, 12 feet to 14 feet 
in length and 7 feet wide, the sides being hinged as in railway 
trucks, so that they may be let down, and the load rolled out quickly. 
Great care must be taken to pick up the sheaves in such a way that 
the seed does not shake out. If the fork is stuck carelessly into 
the seed end, or if the sheaf is lifted with a jerk, there is much loss. 
It must be slipped between the stems, and lifted with a smooth even 
motion straight to the cart. The loads are taken to the cloth, and 
are rolled on to it, the sole duty of one man being to empty. Two 
men receive the matei'ial and immediately lay it in long wads, 
nearly the full length of the cloth, and two iron rollers, each ridden 
by stout lads, or by the master or his sons, are driven up and down 
the wads twice, these being rapidly turned to receive a fresh rolling. 
This rolling and turning are continued until the wad has crossed the 
cloth, the rapidity being controlled by the ease with v/hich the seed 
comes out. The haulm is then stacked outside the cloth ; or, as is 
often preferable, loaded on to carts for use elsewhere as stack- 
bottoms. In all, five to seven men are engaged working the wads 
across the cloths, and loading up the straw, all finding employment, 
as at some periods there are two wads in working at the same time. 
Besides these, three men are engaged in raking off the pods, and 
another man in brushing the seed into a heap. The seed is then 
put on to a coarse riddle 6 feet in length and .3 feet G inches in 
breadth, and the coarse material is worked off, the seed being 
then passed through the winnower to separate the chaff and dust, 
this employing five or six additional liands. The seed is now 
