OS THE ARABLE LAN'I)

40*

floor, in what used to be called the chaff-heap, was continual-ly exposed to the depredations of rats and mice.

Upon small farms it would be obviously improper to erectlarge machines, as the interest of the original expence, andthe tear and wear of the machinery, would more than coun-terbalance any advantages to be expected from their use. Buton farms of moderate size, smaller machines are certainly ad-visable, and are fast coming into use; and though somedoubts are entertained respecting their advantages, yet suchis the security accruing from the use of a threshing-ma-chine, that a person accustomed to employ one would feelhimself most unpleasantly situated, in carrying on even a mo-derate sized arable farm, if obliged to leave his property ex-posed to the circumstances already mentioned as inseparablefrom flail threshing. It may be difficult to ascertain the pro-per limits in this respect, in proportion to the size of farms.Perhaps every arable farm which gives constant employmentto four work-horses, ought to have a threshing-mill of thatpower, and such a machine will even be sufficient for a farmemploying six or eight horses. All beyond ought to have wateror wind machines, if circumstances will permit. Even wherefarms are of very small extent, such as those having two pairof horses or less, as in Ayrshire and other counties in the west-ern part of Scotland , threshing-machines from L.40 to L. 60each, have been constructed, and answer well. Nay, at Lang-holm, a threshing-machine has been invented, that costs onlyfrom L.8 to L. 15. In situations where small farms are con-sidered to be useful or necessary, it might be exceedingly con-venient, for three or more farmers, to collect their grain intoone general farm-yard, with one common threshing-machineto serve them all, held up at their mutual expence, and work-ed by their conjoined strength, or to have ambulatory thresh-ing-mills for the same purpose. Around country towns, itmight be advisable to erect public threshing-machines ; andin some instances, such have been established by speculativepersons, serving at the same time to their own emolument,and to the material advantage of the neighbourhood.