SSI
SECT. XII.
OF REAPING AND HARVESTING.
T V '
IN the ordinary practice of the best managed districts ofScotland , all crops of grain and pulse are cut down by thecommon saw-edged sickle or reaping hook ; though of late asmooth or sharp sickle has been introduced in some places.For the purpose of accurate superintendence, the whole reapersemployed on a farm are marshalled into bands of six or se-ven reapers in each, having a binder to each band, and thiscompany i§. called a bandwin , because they collect all they reapinto the hands of one binder. When the ridges are less than18 feet in breadth, three of the reapers are usually placed uponeach, ridge or land, the middle reaper making the bands orropes with which the sheaves are bound up. These bandsare formed of two small rips or handfuls of straw, twisted to-gether or tied at the ear-ends, and are laid down on the barestubble in the middle of the ridge. Upon them, the threereapers belonging to that ridge lay their handfuls or cats, andwhen filled, the binder ties up the sheaves carefully. He af-terwards collects the sheaves of both ridges under his chargeon the crown of one ridge, and sets them up into stooks orshocks. But when four reapers are placed on one ridge, asis usually the case when the ridge is eighteen feet broad, theapproved method is to lay down two bands upon each ridge,in which way two binders manage twelve reapers placed uponthree ridges, stooking the corn all in one row upon the mid-dle ridge, by which practice the labour of carrying home isgreatly facilitated. With strong crops, however, it is oftenfound necessary to allow each binder to stook by himself, inwhich case he carries it to his whole ridge, or the ridge on