THE MAORI MESSENGER. Auckland, October 13, 1851.

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume 3, Issue 74, 23 October 1851, Page 2

THE MAORI MESSENGER. Auckland, October 13, 1851.

Ploughing and Sowing having orcupied a considerable portion of attention, the next and natural subject is the mode, and the UNKNOWN period, of reaping. Before, however, we enter upon that branch of the subject we are desirous of offering n few intiil-nt'il observations on t'i'.ose which have precede 1 . Whateter pains may be taken to cleanse the land previously to sowing, it must be evi'ei-t to every one that along with the grain tl.erc springs into existence a larger or a lesser growth ot weeds, —such for instance as dock, dent de icii, that tail seedling grass railed wild oat, and the flowering yellow w, ed cal'ed chorlock or wild mustard. When a crop is about a foot above the ground it is of the utmost importance to extirpate such «ceds, and the only method of accomplishing tins is to Fend women or children to pull them up by the roots, great care being taken to trample the prop as little as possible. The expense attending this will be repaid by the increase of crop. whilst the land will be. healthfully cleansed for future operations. As a proof, Sir John Sinclair, one of the most eminent of British Agrieiilturisis, states that the iu-reasc of u wheat crop on u weeded over nil mi weeded laud was four a»d a half bushels to the a-re, and of oilier crops much more. "A sire-acre field was sown with barley in fine tilth, and well manured. The weeding, owing lo a great abundance of cl.urlock, cost twelve shillings p-r acra. The produce of a" unwetded a l- re was only thirteen bushels; of the weeded twenty eigiit bushels; difference in favour of weeding fifteen bushels per acre, besides the land bring so much cleaner fur succeeding crops. Six acres were sown with cats; one acre ploughed but once, and nnmanuied. produced onlv seventcm bushe's. Other six aires, ploughed three times manured, and uvetletl, produced Unity-seven bushels. Ten binliels nmv be fairly attributed to the wecdinu, and the other ten to the manure. The agriculturist who suffers his land to bear crop 9 of weeds pays dearly f r his neglect in his diminished produce." In growing barley, the farmers of Van Dieincn's Land arc frequently serious sufferers from thfi ravages of iaterpi lars. These insects infest the country in countless myriads, fastening upon fields of the most promising barley and cutting off the farmers' hopes in a sing'e night. We are not sufficiently conversant with the neiiiulture • f New Zea'nud to know whether tho husbandman is exposed to such a drcndln) .scourge, but—as n means by which a magnificent Ik-id of 'arley was saved to the writer of tin's paper—it wi |be as well to state Low the enemy may be destroyed. lii 18'12 the wages of the caterpillar were exceedingly disheartening : numberless acres of barley wei'J laid waste, when the insect made its nppcnuinie in a large and healthy field belonging to tho writer. He was sadly annoyed, and sorely perplexed to hit ii)>i-i) so re expedient to the pests. All hN iitighliours bad suffWed severely; "hen the. thought stunk him that ho nad but one hope of success. The barley was but six or soven inches .Vove ground, and was already teginning I" cNhi'jit tiacesol the industry of the caterpillar. At this moment a gentle rain began io lull, and, as the moUture mu sure to draw out the foe, immediate, orders were issued to pass the heay roller over aim over the irop. The expedient pro»ed coinplctc ! y successful ; mid although this unusual time of rolling elided a tolerab'e amount of sneers and scoffs still the enter pillar* were i.'cs'rojed and a liable • rop was the fortunate remit. But to come to the question of reaping. ••The ripeness of grain." says Chambers. •«i=> shown by the straw assuming a golden co'our f-oni the bottom of the stem nearly to the ear; or when the ear begins to| droop gently, the corn may he cut. The Hour of wheat which is cut before it iquite ripe is whiter than that which i 3 allowed lo «.otne to maturity, and bears a higher price in the markets. The grain which is intended for the miller, &h<<uld therefore he reaped I efore n has re uihe.i its perfect growth." These arguments arc, as will be seen, csnccial'y applicable to the period and

practice of reaping in Kngland. But in countries, like New Zealand, where stnisliine is more prevalent and powerful linn in England, there are oilier motive tlmna superiority of whiteness of the flour to induce farmers to rut their grain before it lias nrrived at full maturity. And these are the loss sustained by shedding if the corn be left standing until it becomes dead ripe, and the difficulty of binding up the sheaves in consequence of (lie straw becoming dry and brittle. It would be difficult to (Inline the exact moment when the sickle may be most beneli. ia'ly applied, but a little cave and observation will fully suffice to guid • the intelligent husbandman in this essential matter. ■' Wheat,'' writes Mr. James Jackson is alnioi-t universally cut with the sickle and'ied up in sheaves, which are often made of single lengths of the straw, an I the smaller the sheaves the easier they are dried. The sheaves are set up in i-tooks of t«cJve lo fourteen, according to tin; length of the straw, and are set in rows, the top of each touching, with an opening at the bottom to admit the freo passage of tho wind. From the strength of the straw, wheat remains opener in the sheaves than any otier grain, and consequently wins and dries sooner. The best criterion for judging of the fitness of grain to be carried home is to examine the knots or joints of the straw, and if these be perfectly dead and free from juice, tho crop may then be gathered wi:li safety, even n though it be a lilt lo wet widi rain. It tltc crop, or part of it, is meant to be thrashed early for seed or other purpose, it is necessary to all >«' it to remain longer on the field When the straw is mixe I with succulent weeds or i link cover niul grass, tin; grain must re main on tho field til these are dried or from their wet nature, the crop will be apt to heat in the rick and the produce be injured." " Oats and barlev are now frequently cut with a scythe, which is i i:her plain or furnished with a bow or cradle in order lo lay the grain evenlv in one direction. The coin is tut c'os r to the ground by the scythe than by the sickle, and it is considered that less waste is occasioned, by shedding when the grain is over ripe; and the straw being less compressed in the sheaves, the grain is more open to the action of the nir, ■consequently it becomes si.oner ready for putting into the sta' k. The scythe, however, caoi.ot re ellii iently employe I upon that are much laid and entangled- Tuo good $• yt'einen, with their attendants, ivi'l mowbind, and stock, upon an average, three acres of com crop, within a working <lav of ten hours, which is something more than doubl- the work which can be performed by the sickle. AH corn crops sbon'd bo cut as near the gr-und as prs.ible, for by this a great addition is made to the straw, uud < ons.-qnently to the future manure. '• In reaping with the sii k'e," e ays the National Cyclopia lia, "a p ntion of the stems is collected with the left hand, and held fast, while the sickle in the right band is inserted below t e left, taking the stems in its semi circular blade, and culling them through by drawing the sickle so as to act as a saw, lor which purpose the edge is finely serrated in a direction from the point t» the bundle. The heads of the c«rn with the upper part of the straw, are then laid on the ground in quintities which may readiiy bo collected into a sheaf. Practice soon gives dcxteriry to the reaper; ami he tin-Is it more expeditious to cut small quantities in siicce.ssi.ui until he his lillu! bis ha.id than to attempt to cm through a large handful at on e. Severe wounds are often inlli.-ted on the fingers <>f the lift hand by beginners even to the loss of a linger. Tiie division of labour is introduced with advantage amongst a band of reapers. A certain number cut tlio corn, while other* follow to gather the sheaves ; some only preparing the bands, ami others tying them an.l setting up the sheaves into so iks or shocks, which usua ly consist of ten or two ve sheaves. The smaller the sheaves arc, the less injury the corn sustains in a wi-t harvest ; as the moisture in a thick sheaf does not as readily evapora'e. Hence it is the in'.cicst of the firmer to see that the reapers do not make tho slienu*s toj large. The sheaves sliiuUl be

konu. me titiro te k:ii ngaki kia kuua nga | so tied tliat there may be no danger of. tl)eir falling loose when pitclieil into the ! tlic cart or stacked, without being so tight as to prevent the moisture in tin* straw from evaporating. They should not be tied too ne ;r the ears, but rather nearer to the butt.' No i arc csn lie too great to be'tow on the coining harvest; for it is tle-r that ti will fall very shoitin New South NVa'es; and fr< m the vast numbers that are leaving Van Diemen's Lain), there is every reason to apprehend n light icturii in that country. He it, therefore, more than ever the aim of New Zealand to profit by the large demand lor food which cannot fail to aiise.