STACK BUILDING.

Waikato Times, 14 January 1873, Page 2

STACK BUILDING.

On this subject remarks male by Mr Jan^n Wither* in a paper real before tho Bnmawatha fcloeiety, will prove acceptable. Tlie object Mr Wit 'era had in view m reading bis short pilpsr Wa^ tO silOW tllC «a,> in "-hr^ * -«-hvat nAmr be innde that will kee . out the wet, for morih-. i< ifchoat tliateh, and so pit-rent loss t'.rongh wot we*tlnn- .vourrmg beioro thrashing tak,>9 pla/e. To effect tliis tle following aduco is tender!:— Tlio rick far ten a.-w of a cwp, that will yield twenty bua'iels per acre, should bo ten .•yards long and five jards wid>\ which should bi> marked oul on adry-lying pieca of ground, l>v pc^? ng down Biplinc;s round the outside, and forming tho fomdation of tho nok with straw or saplings. Mr WMhiM-3 then begins to lay hn bheuvu*; but us this part olo l Ins otherwisu capital paper is not quito clear, tvo will supph tho deficieni-y Lt't the builder begiu by forming, as it were, a stook fl^c yard^ loiig in the centre of the rick, and around this continue to place s'ipa^s mi tho samo position, but gradually low.'m? ihe an^'e at v\\w\ thoy mo placed, until the outside of tho foundation has txvn nearly reached, making the corners of uck round, not btjiuu-c, for the round

corner Elands belirr and is more easily made. This done, the builder will pioceed to lav his iirst course of sheaves round t..e stack, keeping the long end of tie butt of the sheaves aw ay irom him. Having completed this outside layer ii second course may bo pioeeeded with, keeping tho butts of the shoa\es about 15 or 18 in<Jie-> nearer tne centre of tue rick than tlie liist cour»e was In this way, laying first an outer and then an inner couiue of sheaves, an I keeping tlio heart well fiTied up, so thit the sheaves have all a slight clip from the centre to tho outside, the building of the riok proceeds. And now we will allow Mr Withers to finish* >c r.ck m his onu words: — ""When you have made your rick, say three feet from the ground, lay tho long side of your .sheaf upwards ; tiiiß will get your rick out enough, and when about three feet from the euros turn the long side of the butt of your sheaf downwards, it will bring your rick m and give what is called 'a belly' to it. Liy your inside sbea\es hign as you gi-t up near the roof, and get t!ie middle well tilled; tre.ul it well that it will bo solid for the roof. A good way to tread is for three or four men to take hold of ban is and walk steadily round several tunes. To lay the eaves, lay one sheaf with the long side downwards, and over enoug'i to clear the bulges of the nek ; lay another on tne top; keep it to form the loof when you have laid once round. Go in the middle and 1 lay a row of sheaves along the middle ; then stand >our sueaves up, the same as in tho field, and keep standing them up till you come to the outside It is well to have a shingle out so thnt you can hold it in your hand atone end and boat your outside sheaves sloping At the butt leavo two sheaves and one in centre, the same as shingles When you have dmo at the outside, go in the middle of your rick and set up again About throe tunes will do it. Standing the sheares up in this way a rick w.ll throw the ram off for months, and a3 well as if it wer thatelied." These plaui,')practical directions, if carried out, and by way of making sure and pi event ng any wet from getting into the upright sheaves, the ridge was protected by a cohering of drawn straw, but little injury could take placj even should a rick built m this way remain unthatched for a khort tune after being put up. But when ricks are likely to stand some time, by far the safest plan, in addition to carefully building, is to applj a good covering of thatch. To run the risk of damage or loss through w aut of care m building stacks, or to save the cost of thatching, is in reality like " spoiling the ship for tho halfpenny wor^i of tar."

All entire field of wheat, near Toronto, Canali, wai recently gathcrel by a machine called a se'tbmlm: harvestci — new and not \et p. lent I—\eij'»n«r1 — \eij'»n«r 110) pottn Is, of 1 ght drui^'it, ml bin; it* w> k s n o ll I wt'i ease. f.ie bun lies aiv tel <v.t •N > 13 n .\ ai ' it is wl * Jit ♦ » >rv,n fliio* i' ' %^i ■> "i» < •>" b mi) 1 n i .m 1 1' «iv i Tie M">'k Lmi- Expttii i,i Septeuj^i 10 i r i?»' .■ ; 'a ratter ol iLi 1 Bi i'.^i «• n i< c op ,-< mt onlr s'lorL. b .t bi 1 m q.iaht i , ml it o-diiiai) tc.um roqaue 'J 000 000 quaiteM, tio cli'ins oi 187*4 soon hLolv lo amoii'it to 12,000,003 quarters, and thin I'lct bt'iii'T kaown iniouglioa!/ Eur >pi> will effectually pveienl any peiin r , > t *it dojhnu on prps^n! rate. At the auction sale of Messrs Hi w wyd and D iwmng'i herd of Short'iorns, September IS, at Wmleifod, Kdkr-' minster, fifty-two cows an 1 luMt'urs averaged eao'i a tnlie over £237, nine bulls abrit €347. making a total for the sixty-one head of £15,458. Tiie bull "E,2;hth Duk© ot Geneva" brought 1,650 gurnets, which, according to the Mark Lane Express, " js the utmost that has been reached as yet for a Shorthorn, and these high figures, so remunerative to the bieeder, must certainly encourage Shorthorn breeding m genera 1 , and Bate's blood m particular." Lord Dunmore, owner of the most select, and, af er Mr C inckshank, the largest herd m Scotland, recently made an auction salo of Shorthorns, with tho following result: —

His Lordship "declined with thanks" an offer of "£15,000 for the choico of 20" of his reserve, and it is incidentally mentioned in the report tnat there woul 1 hare been a larger display except for the fact that he lately lost seventeen calves with the foot and mouth disease. Tn Australian farming one of the greatest defects which sir kes an Englishman is the wicked waste of a raw w'ijc'i preMii'sa'mut everywhere. T'ipseareand have been exceptions. One of the most •ucoess'ui fanners of tw ntv 0" th-rfy vcars ago was in the habit of threshing all his gram with the flail, and feeding tho straw to h>s sVe'i, g-vini fie lnmbs Ihe fr<t picking of it. lie kept about 400 sheep on a 25")iK'e f ru, and cut only about sixteen a^res of !mv tn winter Ivs uholc farm stork, denendin? directly on the straw, corn-stalks, and groin, with this lit'le sunplv of hay, for fejrt, and lie und mbtndly found th s to be the mo3t economical nv-thod for him to adopt al that trno when labour was not mv"'i more tlian half tho price it is no-v The importance, tlie ahsolu'e riece' ty of in intimate know'edge of one's own land is a matte 1 no' sufli enMv co i aid*"* I Anahso*, may a ; d. but chief depen l-nc* must h-» placed on experience anl experiments, extendm; of en through a lorn; series of yea''d A. most successful farnp* has been oeeuoving the same land since 1830, anl to lp> careful preservation each season reveals new secrets of his sod and the influence of climate, i,c. This man knows mthina; of the science of farming as popularly taught ; he has hw own «cience Gathered from his nn n experience the scie'iec of his locality. To move to another plaec with soil and climate difrreut, an 1 apply the same treatment woul 1 be inju dicious. Thckniwledwof the locality must first be aequ'red, »nd tliat ca.n only be done by experience, taking time. Tho •=a no products are not grown, or not to the same extent; different management is required. And so, not only ten different localities suggest each its treatment, but tho sara^ farm and even the sa ne field will often vary, and that not unfrequiMitly with apparently the same quality of soil Thpre is a secret, particularly as it afTVcts the quality of pro'luce, notably the crape and tobacco, that is vet to bo travel lest alone will determine this O'V" scientific and practical men a^e the best fnrmers, 'but oulv when they are thoro itjhly practical in well as versed in theory. Practice must be the first — first importance — as it embraces t e local facts not otherwise obtamed It can be aided bv theory, and that deeideJTv But it will be only aid, as books are an aid to thr thinking man, not the whole of tho main tiling, as they are so often made.