jotfi^yAj.  OF  /{onricoLTiinj^  a.v/j  aoffAoP.  GAUDi^A^m. 
k^gMi.  30,  1898. 
192 
English  and  Irish,  wefe  swinging  the  scythe  in  gangs,  and  the 
steady  swish  with  which  they  cut  through  the  standing  corn  was 
only  broken  by  the  sounds  of  whetting  as  one  or  other  found 
his  scythe  required  it,  now  only  two  or  three  men  are  to  be 
seen,  and  the  only  work  for  them  to  do  is  to  complete  that  of 
the  self-binder,  and  set  up  the  sheaves  in  stooks  Of  course  the 
carting  is  carried  on  much  under  the  old  conditions,  but  there  is 
not  the  same  feeling  of  satisfaction  nowadays  to  all  concerned 
as  there  ought  to  be,  and  as  there  used  to  be  whe  i  gran  was 
selling  at  a  fair  price,  and  produced  a  good  living  for  the  grower 
and  his  men. 
No,  the  old  class  of  farmer  or  yeoman  is  nearly  extinct. 
How  long  is  it  since  we  saw  the  last  load  brought  home  in 
classic  style ,  the  horses  decked  gaily  with  ribbons,  the  waggon 
only  half  loaded  with  corn,  but  carrying  in  addition  all  the 
children  of  the  village,  each  waving  a  green  branch,  the  waggoner 
seated  in  front,  reins  and  whip  in  hand,  ready  at  each  appointed 
halting  place  to  rec  te  a  verse  of  the  “  Nomine  ”  always  used  on 
these  occasions.  The  opening  verse  ran  something  like  the 
following ;  — 
“  Mr.  ISrown,  he  is  a  good  man  ; 
He  lets  us  ride  his  harvest  dam  {sic) ; 
He  gives  us  beef,  and  gives  us  ale, 
And  we  hope  his  lieart  will  never  fail. 
Hip,  Hip,  Hip,  Hurrah!” 
And  did  not  the  children  give  the  cheers  with  some  vigour, 
encouraged,  n  >  doubt,  by  a  vision  of  the  clothes  baskets  full  of 
Apples  to  be  scrambled  for  on  arrival  at  the  stackyard,  whilst 
the  men  would  be  discussing  the  jugs  of  beer,  which  were  much 
more  to  their  taste. 
Then  the  harvest  supper;  when  after  a  stupendous  feed  on 
roast  beef  and  plum  pudding,  a  convivial  evening  would  be  spent 
in  dance  and  song,  the  latter  not  always  of  a  drawing-room 
character.  Shall  we  ever  forget  the  “  G-arden  Gate’'  which  an 
accomplished  tenor  sang /aZa-eWo  through  his  nose,  and  with  such 
exhaustive  effort  that  he  had  no  breath  left  for  the  chorus  which 
he  announced  in  a  stage  whisper,  and  left  to  the  rest  of  the 
company. 
These  customs  have  quite  become  things  of  the  past,  and  one 
seldom  hears  of  a  harvest  supper  now,  perhaps  because  the 
harvest  is  not  worth  it.  No  doubt  there  is  much  more  of  the 
spirit  of  independence  on  the  part  of  the  labourer;  he  does  not 
care  to  be  patronised  nowadays  ;  and  the  same  may,  with  equal 
truth,  be  said  of  the  relations  between  the  farmer  and  his  land¬ 
lord.  But  the  change  is  not  all  on  the  side  of  advantage  ;  no  one 
can  live  a  life  of  absolute  independence,  and  Englishmen  have 
quite  enough  of  the  exclusive  spirit  in  them  without  further 
development 
We  are  sorry  to  see  that  many  men  have  been  unable  to  fnl 
harvest  work  in  Yorkshire  through  the  increasing  use  of  string 
binders  The  saving  now  effected  by  the  farmer  may  be  dearly 
bought  another  year,  when  the  scythe  may  be  an  absolute 
necessity,  but  the  men  to  wield  it  may  not  be  found.  An  old 
hand,  and  a  shrewd  one,  is  firmly  of  opinion  that  the  best  use  of 
a  binder  is  not  to  do  real  worlc,  but  to  repose  in  the  shed  ready 
for  emergencies  ;  the  men  will  take  very  goo  1  care  that  there 
shall  be  no  such  emergency.  The  present  season  is  no  doubt  a 
very  favourable  one  for  string  binders,  such  a  very  large  pro¬ 
portion  of  the  crops  being  short  in  the  straw  and  laid  corn  being 
quite  an  exception. 
A  machine  agent  was  this  season  trying  to  persuade  a  very 
clever  farmer  of  our  acquaintance  to  purchase  a  binder,  and  to 
clinch  his  arguments  said,  “Two  horses  will  work  it  quite  easily. 
Sir.”  He  received  the  unexpected  and  unanswerable  reply,  “  f 
don’t  want  to  grow  crops  which  you  can  cut  with  two  horses  ” 
Thougli  it  may  nut  always  be  the  heaviest  crop  that  is  the  most 
profitable,  yet  when  the  average  result  of  a  number  of  reasons 
is  taken  into  account,  the  full  stackyard  is  generally  the  most 
satisfactory  one. 
The  importance  of  the  corn  harvest  has  been  much  lea-'ened, 
and  naturally  so,  the  value  of  it  in  England  having  been  reduced 
fully  one- half,  so  that  other  sources  of  income  to  the  farmer 
have  been  enhanced  in  comparison  with  it.  In  some  parts  the 
milk  trade  has  been  developed,  in  another  stock-raising,  in 
another  Potatoes,  in  another  vegetable  or  fruit-growing;  the 
true  harvest,  the  real  ingathering,  is  thus  spread  more  over  the 
whole  year,  and  though  the  rector  may  persuade  his  parishioners 
to  acquiesce  in  an  autumn  date  for  the  annual  thanksgiving  to 
the  Almighty  for  the  fruits  of  the  earth,  it  may  often  happen, 
as  it  has  to  the  writer,  that  whilst  giving  thanks  for  the  harvest 
of  corn  the  mind  may  have  been  torn  with  anxiety  for  the 
welfare  of  other  crops  which  were  of  far  greater  moment  with 
regard  to  the  balance-sheet. 
WOBK  ON  THE  HOME  FARM. 
Though  harvest  i«  practically  over  in  some  of  our  southern  counties 
we  cannot  say  that  it  progresses. rapidly  in  the  Midlands  and  the  North. 
Spring  corn  is  so  unusually  full  of  second  growth  and  late  ears  that  the 
crops  have  had  to  stand  until  very  ripe,  and  when  cut  require  a  great 
deal  of  time  to  acquire  the  deadness  requisite  for  safe  stacking.  Wheat 
is  all  safely  in  stack,  and  some  Barley  and  Oats.  Everything  so  far  has 
been  get  in  excellent  condition,  but  it  may  be  that  rain  in  stook  would 
have  improved  much  of  the  Barley,  which  is  very  hard  and  flinty  on  many 
soils;  this  is  a  natural  result  of  the  dry  season.  Heavy  rain*  on  the 
stooks,  though  they  might  cause  a  loss  of  colour,  would  in  all  probability 
do  more  good  than  harm.  Oats  have  cut  up  very  light  indeed,  and  are 
a  most  nnsatisfactory  crop. 
Potatoes  are  dying  rapidly,  and  all  but  the  very  latest  sorts  will  soon 
be  ready  to  lift.  The  bulk  is  fairly  heavy,  but  quality  varies  much  ; 
super-tuberation  is  not  so  prevalent  as  might  have  been  expected,  but 
there  is  a  good  deal  of  scab.  Slight  signs  of  disease  have  appeared. 
In  the  intervals  of  harvest  we  haVe  begun  to  break  up  the  Wheat 
stubbles  ;  the  four-horse  drag  is  the  best  implement  to  use  if  the  land  is 
not  too  hard,  otherwise  the  chilled  plough  must  be  resorted  to.  No 
opportunity  must  be  lost  of  working  stubble  laud,  one  good  dressing 
now,  even  if  nothing  be  got  off,  will  be  worth  two  or  three  next  spring. 
There  is  no  better  time  for  trimming  low  hedge*  than  the  period 
immediately  succeeding  harvest,  that  is  if  the  men  can  be  spared  to  do 
the  work ;  the  scotching  and  plashing  necessary  for  the  year  will  then 
have  the  whole  attention  of  the  hedgers  in  the  winter,  and  there  will  be 
no  excuse  for  neglect.  Hedges  that  have  been  regularly  trimmed  for 
many  years  often  begin  to  show  signs  of  weakness  and  decay ;  it  is  better 
then  to  leave  such  fences  to  grow  for  a  couple  of  years,  which  helps  to 
strengthen  them,  and  when  taken  down  the  third  year  they  will  grow 
with  greater  vigour  than  if  cut  down  at  once  in  the  weak  state. 
In  many  parts  farmers  are  sowing  Rye,  Tares,  Rye  Grass,  and  such 
like  to  meet  the  dearth  of  fodder  which  they  are  likely  to  have  to  cope 
with  in  the  spring.  Such  crops  are  having  a  very  favourable  seed  time, 
and  should  do  well.  We  are  glad  to  say  that  in  our  own  locality  the  winter 
prospect  for  keeping  is  a  fair  one,  and  we  are  not  reduced  to  such 
devices.  Roots  are  making  giant  strides,  and  the  prospect  is  now 
almost  good. 
METEOROLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS. 
Oamdbn  Squarb,  Londoh. 
Lat.61'»32'40"  N.;  Long.  0°  8/0"  W.;  Altitude  111  feet. 
Oatb. 
9  A.M. 
In  the  Day. 
0$ 
1896. 
August. 
Qj  05 
Bo~5 
ueo  m 
00  sSCO 
Hygrometer. 
Direc¬ 
tion  of 
Wind. 
Temp, 
of  soil 
at 
1  foot. 
Shade  Tem¬ 
perature. 
Radiation 
Temperature 
Dry. 
Wot. 
Max. 
Min. 
In 
Sun. 
On 
Grass. 
Inohs. 
leg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
deg. 
Inohs, 
Sunday  ..  9 
30-042 
62-2 
66-8 
N. 
61-0 
65-2 
52-d 
104-8 
48-4 
0-361 
Monday  , ,  10 
89-163 
63-1 
58-9 
N. 
60-3 
69-3 
64-4 
102-2 
.50-4 
0-036 
Tuesday  .,  11 
30-274 
58-9 
55'1 
N. 
60-1 
74-0 
61-9 
121-4 
46-1 
Wednesday  12 
30-217 
63-4 
58-0 
N.W. 
60-9 
73  7 
62-1 
116-8 
48-1 
Thursday..  13 
80-146 
68-3 
61-2 
W. 
61-7 
77-1 
54'7 
123-4 
49-8 
0-018 
Friday  . ,  14 
29-951 
61-7 
60-0 
W. 
62-0 
71-8 
58-7 
121-9 
63-9 
0-066 
Saturday  . ,  15 
29-978 
69  7 
.64-0 
N.W. 
61-4 
70-0 
49  7 
Ul-i 
45-0 
— 
30-114 
62-6 
57-7 
61‘1 
71-6 
534 
114-4 
48-8 
0-471 
REMARKS. 
9th,— .Overcast  and  damp  early  ;  rain  from  11.30  A.M.  to  3.30  P.M.;  generally  heavy, 
but  gleams  of  sun  between  the  showers. 
10th.— Overcast  and  showery,  with  Ughoning  and  thunder  at  0.37  f.m.  and  a  little 
thunder  later  ;  cleariug  later,  with  some  bright  sunshine. 
llth.— Bright  and  fresh  almost  throughout,  but  some  cloud  between  3  and  4  P.M. 
12th.— Overcast  morning  ;  geaenuly  sunny  in  afternoon,  and  fine  nighi.. 
13th.— Bright  sun  at  times,  but  frequently  cloudy,  and  spots  of  rain  about  4  P,M. 
14th. — Overcast,  with  frequent  showers,  and  occasional  sunshine  in  morning ;  bright 
afternoon. 
16th.— Overcast  morning :  sunny  afternoon  ;  a  little  cloud  ;  fine  night. 
Rain  and  temperature  near  the  average.— Q.  J.  Btmohs. 
