OF SCOTLAND.

401

of improvement. The inventor of this excellent and usefulimplement, Mr Meikle, assuredly deserves to be ranked a-mong the greatest benefactors to agriculture ; yet circum-stances, foreign to the object of the present work, conspiredto hinder him from deriving any adequate remuneration fromthis excellent fruit of his inventive genius. Though richlymeriting an ample public reward, he had almost been permit.-ted to descend in poverty to the grave; but a liberal subscrip-tion has been lately collected by the exertions of several pub-lic spirited individuals, by which his latter days were muchcomforted, and his family provided with a moderate compe-tency.

The description of the threshing-machine belongs to a dif-ferent chapter of this General Report j and its operation, inseparating the grain from its straw and chaff, is all thatcan be considered in the present section. The threshing millor machine consists of three principal working parts, whichsuccessively perform three separate operations, all of which arenearly connected with each other, and execute their severalworks almost simultaneously. In the Jirst, the grain and chaffare beaten off from the straw. By the second , the straw isshaken out from the grain and chaff, and is conveyed intothe straw-barn, where it remains till wanted for the variouspurposes of the farm. By the third operation, the mingledgrain and chaff are separated from each other, while passingthrough attached fanners or winnowing machines, which like-wise divide the best of the grain from that which is lighter andless perfect.

Upon all large arable farms, in the improved districts ofScotland , there are powerful threshing-machines, driven orworked by means of water, wind, or horses; and the averageefficient strength or impelling power of these may be estima-ted at the working force or draught of six or eight good hor-ses. It must be obvious, however, that the working power ofwater and wind machines must vary in proportion to the sup-ply of water, or the impetus of the wind by which they aye

vol. i. 2 c