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catlicrers, binders, and rakers to follow the mowers, and notto suffer any corn to lie loose upon the ground.
It may be proper to institute a comparison of the expcncebetween reaping in the ordinary manner, and cutting by thescythe. A fair average crop of oats or barley will require aband-win of six reapers and one binder, to cut down, bind,and stook from one and a half to two acres in one day, if thecutting process is duly performed. At the ordinary rate ofharvest wages in Berwickshire for some years past, two shil-lings and eightpence for men, and half-a-crown for women,and one shilling each for victuals, the expence of cutting andstooking will amount to sixteen shillings and eightpence peracre *. A good mower will cut down an acre a day ; which,including victuals, will cost five shillings. Two expert womenmay take up and bind his day’s work, which will cost sevenshillings, and the horse rake will cost sixpence more, in alltwelve shillings and sixpence, which is only four shillings andtwopence less than the charges of reaping per acre. But thescythe gives at least two additional inches of straw above or-dinary cutting by the sickle; by which not less than one cartlead or ton of additional manure will be produced in the foldyard, from each acre of corn land that has been mown, worthat least seven shillings of immediate value to the husbandman *,and this may be fairly reckoned upon as profit upon mowinggrain, when properly conducted, in comparison with reaping.It is perfectly practicable, however, to cut nearly as low withthe sickle as with the scythe, though certainly at a greater ex-pence than what is above estimated.
It is worthy of notice, while engaged on the subject ofreaping, that it has been fully ascertained, by comparativeexperiments carefully conducted in East Lothian , that thereis much economy and profit in cutting wheat and all other
* In some districts the expence is less. Oats and barley may be reaped, incommon cases, at from 10 s. 6 d. to 12 s. per Englidi acre; but when lodged, orwhen the crop is wheat, it will require from 1 s. to 1 s. £ d. more.