In sonic instances, twenty-four horses are formed at • some distance from the floor into four ranks; and when the floor is ready laid, the word is given to advance. For the sake of order and regular work, a boy mounted on one of the foremost horses advances in a walk with the whole rank haltered or tied together, and enters upon the bed of wheat, walking the horses slowly over it ; another rank is ordered to follow as soon as the first is supposed to have obtained a distance equal to a fourth part of the circumference of the bed, and in the same manner the other ranks proceed. They are forbidden to go past a walk, till they have proceeded five or six rounds, when the word is given to move at a sober trot, and to keep their ranks at a full distance from each other, regularity and deliberate movement being necessa ry for preventing confusion. The gentle trot is con tinued till it may be supposed the horses have travelled eight or nine miles, which is the extent of their first journey ; they are then led off to be foddered and water ed, when the trodden light straw is taken off as deep as the place where the sheaves lie close, and are but par tially bruised.
As soon as this first straw is removed, one-third of the width of the bed is turned over on the other two thirds from the inner side or circle of the bed, which narrows the circle of the next journey. The horses arc again led on, and trot out their second journey, till the straw be clear of wheat. The outer part of the bed is then turned upon the middle part. when the horses take another journey. The loose straw being then ta ken off, the whole remaining bed is turned up from the floor, and shaken with forks and handles of rakes. after which the horses give another tread, which finishes the work. The grain is then shoved up from the floor with heads of Jake turned downwards, and put into of .1 c oni, al form, in which situation it otteli ieninus nostAi to the rtcadtyv for several days. The .nit \ merican ulturists, however, have houses adjoin ing to the treacling Iluor, Ntfit're the grain is deposited in it is c leaved from the chaff and offal; though as most of them c ontinue trending, if the weather be fa , till the w hole crop is st plumed from the straw, t is pretty obvious that the giant stands a considerable , fiance of being damaged before the several processes v concluded.
Wt re we to make any comparison betwixt thrashing ith a machine and treading by the feet of horses, the .exult would he entirely in favour of tic. lOrmer. Eay ..tg :.side the great danna,ge which the grain must re , eiye when treading, by the dung, Ixc. of the horses process, r. e are 'almost sure that the ex pense of treading must be as great as that of thrash Mg, independent of the consideration that the latter proces, must more generally se pirate the grain from • he straw, than possibly can be tic complished by the other. For farther information on the construction of
machines, see Ferguson's LecturcN, of Fa 71 71crs.
It thrashing machines are of much advantage to the public, by separating corn completely from the straw, Inc introduction of fanners, or the machine by w hick , urn is cleaned from chaff, aild all sorts of offal, may, ith justice, be considered as proportionally of equal benefit to the practical agriculturist. At this day it can hardly he conceived what difficulties the farmers of ancient times were put to before the cleaning pro cess was accomplished ; though it may easily be ascer mined, that much loss was sustained, in numerous instances, from corn remaining amongst the chaff, upon the floor of a damp barn, till a natural wind rose suf ficient for accomplishing the necessary separation. Since the introduction of artificial wind, these inconve riCes and losses are completely removed, to the great accommodation of the farmer, and preservation of his property.
To one of the same family, who afterwards invented the thrashing machine, we are indebted for the intro duction of fanners into this country, as can be proved by the must satisfactory written evidence. In the year 171u, James Aleikle, father of the inventor of the thrash ing machine, was sent to Holland at the expense of the celebrated Andrew Fletcher, Esq. of Salton (a charac ter well known in the annals of that period,) to learn the art of making pot-barley, and constructing barley mills ; both of which arts were then utterly unknown in this country. As a preliminary to these purposes, ar ticles of agreement were entered into betwixt Mr Hen ry Fletcher, brother of the gentleman above-mentioned, as taking part for his said brother, and James Aleikle, which articles are still extant, together with a letter front Andrew Fletcher, Esq. to the said James Aleikle, dated "I [ague, I `Itli June, 1710," giving him directions about making and purchasing several articles necessary to be used in the erection of the barley-mill. This mill, like every other barley mill, had a pair of fanners an nexed, and these fanners the first ever employed in Scotland. From being used at the barley-mill, they were afterwards constructed upnn a larger scale, an ,t employed fir torn many y ear., hi•fore the thrashit g. machines wt re ii,tioduced. The fir t bat ley mill erected Scot:and Nt,,s at SaltOn, iu tae county ut I1 yid, igt u ; atid it is not mahy years sin, c the! original pair of tanners, constructed and( reeled Jarncs.Meikle, v.'t re 1.tid being then worn out exhausted by continual application.