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rain or wind, they are built up in long narrow stacks, calleddashes, ten or twelve feet long, the breadth of two sheaves laidhorizontally, having their ear-ends inwards, and six feet high.The top is formed sloping both ways like the roof of a house,and is often secured by a covering of straw or coarse hay, toprevent rain from penetrating. After remaining in this statefor two or three weeks, the crop is built in cylindrical ricksin the usual manner; sometimes temporarily in the field tdlthe conclusion of harvest, and afterwards led home to therick-yard *.
Having omitted to notice a mode of reaping practised insome parts of Scotland , in which the reapers are paid accord-ing to the work they perform, it shall now be mentioned.This mode is termed threavuig, and consists in paying eachreaper individually in proportion to his day’s work, as ascer-tained by the number of threaves, of two stooks each, ortwenty-four sheaves, which he or she has cut down, bound,and set up. Each sheaf, measured at its band, must fill a forkten inches wide between the prongs, that is ten inches diame-ter, or thirty inches in circumference. The price varies indifferent places according to bargain, but may be stated at4d. per threave, and these threavers have to provide their ownvictuals. A good hand will cut down, bind, and stook from nineto twelve threaves in one day, thus earning from three to fourshillings ; but many are employed who are not able to do aquarter of this work. The great advantage of this mode, be-sides saving much superintendence, is, that the threavers uni-formly cut lower, and consequently cleaner, than reapers whoarc paid either by the day or the acre, as the lower they cutthe sooner they fill their sheaves, and produce a greater num-ber of threaves ; thus, at the same time, adding to their ownemolument, and increasing the store of their employer, bycutting and gathering the whole of his crop. There is somedegree of awkwardness at first, especially among the femal*