101 
Reaping Machines and Self-Binders. 
the weight of straw per acre is in this way considerably 
increased. The relative weight per acre of straw would be as 
follows : — 
If cut 2 in. ofE the ground the weight per acre equals 26 cwt. 
>> ® n ii ii ii 23 ,, 
ii 12 ,, ,, ,, ,, 21 ,, 
The scythe therefore secures about 3 cwt. of wheat straw 
more than the sickle, and that quantity, if viewed as marketable 
produce, may easily be worth 7s. 6d. and go far towards paying 
the expense of mowing. Mown sheaves are better adapted for 
throwing off wet than shorn sheaves, as they are sharper, and 
the stooks are pointed like a high-pitched roof. Mowing is an 
excellent method of harvesting corn, although it has been to 
a great extent relinquished in favour of reaping machines and 
binders. 
Reaping Machines. 
It is not necessary to review the history of the reaping 
machine, except to recall the revolution which its introduction 
has caused in harvesting. It gave employment to horses on 
many farms where they were formerly turned out to grass 
until required for carting. In other cases, as already men- 
tioned, it, to some extent, interfered with tillages. It cut the 
stubbles shorter than the sickle, although a little longer than 
the scythe. It proved a salutary check to the high wages 
demanded by labourers, and did away with all the prepara- 
tions previously necessary for housing and feeding itinerant 
bands of men from Ireland, Derbyshire, and other places. It 
also reduced the cost of harvesting to a point more consistent 
with the lower prices of corn. 
And yet it must be allowed that the reaping machine has 
had its day. It is seldom used except for barley, and upon 
small holdings, on which a mower with reaping attachment may 
be recommended. The principal interest now attaching to these 
machines is that of cost in comparison with self-binders, for 
no one can doubt the greater efficiency of the latter class of 
machines. Any further remarks upon reaping machines will 
therefore best be made in contrasting them with harvesters. 
Self-Binders. 
Twine has now been adopted as the best material for 
binding, and 3^ lb. per acre at 48s. per cwt. works out to 
a cost of Is. 6d. per acre, 1 to which must be added Is. per acre 
for stooking or setting up. The self-binder has been brought 
1 Mr. Frederick Reynard, of Sunderlandwick, Driffield, informs me that, 
in his own case, the consumption of binder-twine for five years, 1901 to 1905, 
amounted to 2 - 78 lb. per acre. It is, however, advisable to estimate such 
charges liberally, and my own consumption has generally been about 3£ lb. 
per acre. — J. W. 
