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The Labourers Set theWheat Up Into Stooks
When the reaper throws out the corn,
it
throws it out in sheaves. But no mechanical device has yet been invented to stack the separate sheaves
up
into
stooks. The number of sheaves
to
a stook varies from, county to county; but
in
every county this work has to be done by hand.
picturesque of all sights. 'For the men
st~nuous
of all work. For the rulers of
'on which ' peace or war may depend.
is carted away as bedding for pigs.
Ideally, the hay should be made before the harvest
begins-. This year, the farmer has faced two anxieties
~t
once. The wheat, oats and barley were ripe for
reaping before the weather
was
settled sufficiently '
for haymaking to end.
To judge the precise time for harvesting
is
the
' most satisfactory achievement in farming. If is the
difference between profit and loss, economy of
labour and 'unrewarded toil.
The farmer taps his barometer 'and consults the
weatherwise among his labourers to see
if
the baro–
meter is wrong. It
is
a momentous season. Who can
blame
him
if,
in passing, he takes a surreptitious
peep over the hedge to see what his neighbour
is
doing?
. -
,
At last the decisive morning dawns. The 1torses
are newly-shod and ,the tractp-r fuelled to the
tank–
cap. The teeth of
th~
reaping knives are edged and
the scythes 'are sharpened. The
machines
are
dragged out ofthe shed into the -sunshine.- The high–
pitched music of
~e
reaper carries over the fields to
the farmhouse.
Now, there is no turning back. The harvest has
A Pause for Refreshment in the Evening
_
At
harVest time all working hours are disorganised on the farm. Men work overtime,far into the evening,
while thefine weather lasts. Instead'of going home
to
a meal atfive o'clock, they drink a bottle of cold tea,
sitting among the' stooks. "Beaver
11
is
wha~
some labourers call this refreshment.
SS