IN SCOTLAND.
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pillar being set in the centre, and from six to nine placedround at equal distances from the middle one, and also fromone another, a frame of wood is laid upon their top, whichreaches from one pillar to the other. The pillars and framesbeing placed in this manner, are easily removed, when ncces-sary, with very little expence, and vermin have no way ot get-ting up among the grain ; so that neither rats nor mice areto be seen in any corn-stack built on wooden frames, support-ed either by stone or cast-metal pillars. The advantages re-sulting from the use of these frames may be estimated at fromone boll to one and a half in thirty; and in wet or late sea-sons, they are found of great advantage for preserving thegrain from spoiling, when put into the stack in a damp orwet condition, as they allow a free circulation of the air be-low, so that the corn is not injured by imbibing moisture, asit must certainly be when set down on the wet ground.
There is another invention, supposed to be peculiar to Scot-land , called Bosses, which, either with the cast-metal or stonepillars, and frames placed on their tops, are admirably calcu-lated for harvesting any sort of corn in a wet season, or whenthe crop is late in cutting down. It consists of a triangle,nearly the height which the stack is intended to be built, anda hout three feet wide at the lower end, tapering to ten ortwelve inches at the top j small spars of wood are nailed acrossthis triangle, so near to each other as to prevent the sheaves°f corn from being pressed into its boss, or hollow; but ifspars are not at hand, a strong rope made of hay or straw,plied round the outside, may answer in their place. The boss° r triangle is placed on the middle of the frame, and the grainbuilt round its circumference, so that the air has freedom toClr culate up the boss or hollow, nearly to the top of the stack,w hich must be of very great service in preventing the grainIfom spoiling, if it is not fully dry when brought home.
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VOL, 1.
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