“That may be true, Sir, but put bird in cage, give him plenty to eat, still he fly away.”
I delay giving a description of the cradle-scythe, as I doubt if the one that I have just seen is of the best construction.
After the crop is cut, the swath is collected by the hand, and tied into sheaves; a small quantity of stalks still remain scattered over the surface, {17} these are commonly collected by the hand-rake. To facilitate the latter part of the process, a horse rake has been recently invented; of which the following figure is a representation.
AB is a beam about six inches square, and about twelve feet long. CD is an upright rail that prevents the stalks accumulated by the machine from falling over the beam AB, and so left behind. EF, ef, are two supports to the rail, which also serve as handles for steering, and occasionally upsetting the machine. ABHG is a tire of wooden teeth, one and a half inches diameter, and about six inches distant from one another. These teeth are sharpened at their extremities, and skim along the ground with their points forward; raising up and collecting the stalks. IK are trees to which the horses are yoked. The trees are attached to the beam AB, by the rope BLA.
{18} The field in which I saw the horse rake used is flat and not ridged; consequently the straight beam operated very well. To adapt a beam to ridges, it would only be necessary to construct it with two joints or hinges; one at each side of the handles, and to connect the central part of the beam by a rope with the point of attachment L. Otherwise, the implement may be moved across the ridges.
Four wheeled waggons are the vehicles used in carrying home the crops, carrying manure into the fields, and produce to market. They are drawn by two horses, which trot, whether loaded or not. Small one-horse waggons are also used, they are neat, and are furnished with a seat for conveying families to church, and elsewhere. Many of the farmers who own but small properties, keep one horse gigs. Ladies drive dexterously.
The practice of housing the crops, and the ancient one of treading them out by the feet of horses, shew that the Long Islanders have yet something to learn in the way of dispatching their agricultural business.
The high price of land prevents emigrants from settling here. The near neighbourhood of a market, and the salubrity derived from dry land, together with sea breezes, might, notwithstanding, form sufficient inducements to many, who would pursue their immediate advantage; but those who look forward to the future prospects of a family, commonly prefer some part of the back country.
July 24. Saw the works in progress at Fort Diamond.[9] This is a large battery raised on a shoal in the narrows, about 200 yards off the western point of Long Island; most of the workmen are British.