THE MAORI MESSENGER. Auckland, December 18, 1851.

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume 3, Issue 78, 18 December 1851, Page 2

THE MAORI MESSENGER. Auckland, December 18, 1851.

We return again, in our present number, to the further consideration of those Agricultural treatises from which matters of more pressing, but temporary interest,

have diverted our attention. Wc' have placed before our native renders, n series of carefully collated information on the important subjects of Ploughing, .Sowing, and Kenning ; and in continuance of our course, we next come to consider the best manner of securing the I arvest by Stacking. This is nn opcrntion which cannot lie sufficiently actively or diligently attended to; for delay, in leaving the corn too long on the ground, is apt lo he productive of nmcVlnss in consequence of the shedding of the over-dried grain. S'aoks are built of various shapes and sizes ; some being largo square piles, whilst others are ranged in comparatively small lircu'ar blocks, The reason frequently assigned for building in 'he foriiKT style is that the stack may he taken into the barn piecemeal, and according to the means and iieecsscti s of the fn'incr, and without detriment to the remainder of the stack:—One of the many arguments in favour of the latter form" is that the stack being small it is exposed to a much greater circulation of air, and in consequence not only much less liable to become livatD;! and mouldy, but from its h'ster mid more poitable bulk at once practicable to he removed into the h.:rii, there to lie thnshed without delay. Where thrashing is p< rfo.med by the Imnd Hail we ourselves give a devid.-d preference to (he small round stacks ; for, take what care the farmer may in opening the larger and square stack, the opciatioii is certain to be attend with more or less waste, unlcsi adeg.ee i f attention, not. ficquent'y to be met with i:i colonial lilis.i:iu>!ii . !)■• ohseiied in the breaking into ami seeming the si.-uk against exposure to the weather. In the coloi ies .Stacks are mil' h too generally bui't upon a Y.o-o and slovenly, inundation 01' brushwood and straw. Ti'is is not oii'y ml u'ated to üborb moisture, but is a i ertain means of rendering stacks a burrow for rats and mi e. " In t">e best manag< d farms." v.rites Mr, James Jackson, sin autbirily to whom we Im-.e r.peated'y referred, "it is now the practice to construct the stacks on stands made of stone or brick, or upon pillars made of stone or cast iron, sparred across with wood or ion. These stands are formed so as to prevent the access of \crmiii, which is calculated to effect a siuing of four I ushels in thirty; and may have fume's from the t"p to the bottom of the stacks to admit a tree cur rent of air.

'•ln Scotland, the stacks being mostly round, a sheaf is first placed uii its buttend in the cculi-o of the bottom or stand ; around this others are placed, also upright, but with n slight iidin'uti. 11 of the head in—wards, until tins s(;\i d is iifiu-ly filled. Tin; stacker then p'r.jcs a I >ycr of sheaves horizontally on the outside of these, King on their sides, the ear-ends inwards and pressing them together with considerable force,' he continues to lay on rows, until the outside sheaves arc as high as those standing on end. Tin; whole stuck is filled up in nearly the sane manner, the ear-ends of the sheaves being always inwards, with a rcgu'ar iix'in tion downwards and outwards to their butts, and the centre cf the rick being higher and not so comprt sseil as the outsi.le. Proper attention to the sloping of the sheaves is necessary from the foundation of the stack, but particularly so at the intake of the inner layers, that part b ing alwaj'3 left more. open. When this is done, the stacker sets up an outside circular row of sheaves having their butt-ends projecting n tew inches beyond the body of the rick, after which iho outside lax ers come gradually iuxvards, until the roof is drawn to a narrow circle, when two or lliree. sheaves placed upright completely nil up the stack. The topmost sheaves are then firm!/ bound xvith a few turns from the niidd'e of the straw rop?, the txvo e:ub of xvhidi are fastened on opposite sides of the stack. When c.-ireftt'ly built and thatched, a stack will completely keep out rain, a»t! be (ptite secure Irom high xvinds. .Material* for thatching, and straw ropes sbou'd always be nuule before harvest, so that no delay may aisc from this in the event of xvet weather. The thaUhcr stands upon a ladder, placed on the sloping roof of the stack, and lays on the straw iii bandfuls from a quantity placed within liU reach. One end of the straw he thrusts into the butt of a sheaf, and the other end hang* over the slack.

Ho tlms progresses up to the top, making each handful overlap ilie other ; and on the top of tho stuck a thick covering of short straw i 9 placed, over which a straw rope is carried perpendicularly, dividing the roof into equal sections.' Ho then rovers the topping of short straw with long thatch coming to a point, and ties the upper end of this with a straw rope into a penk. the form of the top resembling in appearance, nn umbrella. With the aid of two assistants on the ground the thntcher now p'accs a number of tough ont-straw ropes ever the covering, to sixuro it lirmly. These roprs arc made to cross each other at angles, and arc fastened either to the butts of the sheaves, or to a rope (irmly bound round ] the body of the staik. j "Uuifding stacks with what arc termed IjfSFcs 'is peculiar to Scotland. In wet, Tysons these have been found of great I benefit. A boss is formed of a triangle | erected in thy middle ol the frame, which ; forms si hollow about three feet wide. A few spars are nailed across this, close enough to prevent the sheaves from la'ling .in, and the sheaves are p'ac.ed round it. When the stacker Ims reached tho top of the boss, he places on it a sackful ol straw, which he builds round, pulling it always up until he arrives at the top of the stack. 13osses may be used cither in stacks having pillnrs resiing on the ground, or having a. bottom of brushwood, with an opening to the win■lwar.l side. For beans or peas tlicv are particularly useful, and, indeed, it is doubted whether a green-cut bean crop could he preserved without them. It has frequently been a subject ol inquiry how soon beans can be be put in by means of bosses; but it is evident that this must depend on the state in which the beans are when cut. Ifeut when both leaves and pods Ore green, they will require n long time. If cut when the pods are beginning to change colour, and some of the leaves have fallen oil', whish is thought the best state, they will require seen or eight days with bosses and fourteen without them, if the weather is dry. When the pods have turned black, and the leaves i fallen off, three or four days may do with busses, and seven or eight without them providing that no rain fail in the interval. 'On the whole, it may be affirmed that beans can be harvested by this mode in half the usual time, and preserved in much better condition. lie.ins are often built in oblong stacks provincia'lv termed soius, which ore so eonstrui ted tliat parts of the stack can be taken down without disturbing' the rest. " Stacks aro sometimes coii'trw ted in Kngland on a timber pl.vform raised upon stones, and over the stack the fame work of a perfect |-arn is placeJ, which can be either tiled or thatched. This is said to afford greater security to the crop, and to be less expensive than annually thatching. The price of erection is said to be comparatively trilling, when the convenience of such ''uildings is considered and they have been known, when well put up to last for thirty years." From these facts, much information ns to the simplest and ino?t efficient modes of Stacking nmy be gleaned. Upon the perfect manner in which the slacking of corn i 3 performed, much of its security and commercial value depends. For if the stacks be reared upon brushwood, it can hardly escape the invasion of rats and mice ; who, besides the loss of quanity they inevitably occasion, detract from the quality of the sample by the filth and gnawings that they leave behind. If, on the other baud a stack he indifferently built, it is liable to imbibe moisture, nud so to discolour if not to destroy the grain. We are almost induced to fear th,it some of our native farmers are remiss : u their care of building proper stacks—at 1 events their samples of wheat lack that ..ireful cleaning nud brifiamy of colour vliicli the grain when growing is by no neaiis deficient of. This, to them, should ie a matter of tho most serious at'.eutiou, iccausc it U allirmcd by the corn dealers ii general that both the grain and the 'our of New Zealand are inferior to those f Van .Uienian's Land. We do not beevc that iutrinsicalv they are so. In ie field they may, we ti.iiik, f illy cluiliiigo comparison ; but as the finest rain may be sadly injured by imperfect ticking, we would urge upon tliUive husbandman, especially now that

'lio harvest season is so rapidly approaching, the deep importance of dry and careful slacking.