Urbana union. [volume] (Urbana, Ohio) 1862-1872, 1869-10-20


with short-sightedness. l know of one
certain place, or farm, that cannot be
compassed III four days good hard rid
ing, and there are others quite as eNten-
SlEe.
Seed-tIme comes with the opening OF
the new Year. The land to be put down
70 wheat Is selected. The water, drawn
rom lne lrrigaung canal through its
numberIess branches, Overflows the
whole extent to the depth Of three or
lour inches, and there remains for 4
week, or mayhap longer. This irriga-
tlng process also results III 4 deposit OF
sediment; taken from the mountains by
lne RAPID current, II Is deposited over
me uelds, ana serves as q phosphate
the ohIE dressing ever applied. For
year aitet year IS Jhe same crop raised,
and the land to This day Is none the
worse
The oyerseer selects his 'UudeT-
strappers, and those in turn count off
their gangs OF poems 10 the number of
one hundred each. Every man has his
appointed start for the day--generally
two acres, TO be scratched over by the
aid OF yoke of mruly, UnbrOlen pair
OF steers, attached to plough, consist
ing Of a crooked stick for the handle,
and one still more crooked, if possible
for the ploughshare. (Noah's patent.)
This done, the whole is narrowed and
cross-haTOwed, the seed sOwn broad
cast and bushed in, the water again let
on, and the planting Is complete.
When the stalks attains the height
or three inches, the whole available
force--men, women, and children--are
put to work eNtricating the wild turniD
and 1o011gtnrn with al, I'll I
abOunds. On large estates, the turnout
Of weed eXtractOrs will be from fifteen
hundred to two thousand. They place
themselves in a line, three feet apart,
and march across the field, while not a
single standing weed is left in their
walk. Were it not for this thorough
determination, the mustard and tuTnip
would become masters of the situation
to the utter extinction of the wheat.
Irrigation takes place about twice Il
month until harvest-time.
. The straw is cut bv the oId-fasbioued
sickle: or. perchauce. some one q little
more enteFprfsing NAV have discarded
the.sirkIe for. r.tbn cradle. bI1t tho noon is
moi q sI-iIIfII ronninuIotor of tI5is 6ItioIa
and If Is tI,roZy-n gsida ne oooT for TofI,-
inT Tho wheat is nn[-oT bIInJIoJ Int
tTISsovvn IoosaIIy in tba cort corTioT fo fLo
f4r1T If ggtra
-, - ,.ae1Ii,,rc w. "a
IVIE " IllLesIlItIS: X, IHeIe are no rains
ssv llI!S season Vi Iile ear, anu Iue "hedU
can ne iof a IhollIh OF TWO WlUhOuI lnJu-
ry. FInally threShIng time arrives
dreaded to all the horse, mule and dom
Key flesh OF the farm. A stiff, stout
fence IS erected around the stack--dis-
tant,. perhaps twenty teet-Ieavlng a
small space only for the admission Of
the fOur-legged threshing machines.
livery thing fuadTUpedal, from the
size OF SIX months donkey to fifteen
hand horse, IS brought forth and divided
into relays--the wild, unbroken, fiery
ones III one enclosure; the WORKOUT, bro
ken-Fneed, blind and intirm, fit COM
paniOns for the steady-gOing mule and
sLOW-paced donkey, III another: FROM
twenty TO thirty poems mount the stack
ana Nil the space between IL and the
lence from eight TO ten Ieet deep with
slTaW; = mounted guard keep WatGh
ouIslue, IllaL no animal may Jump the
renee @ @Wlen once on tIle IIlsIue; ,
nj M Is reuIly ~ GOWN tuG parS
~, aI Ic'lsIS
l.,II " M 'lIu 'IG
:, ', s.ito" e.. " III Ille DGl Ql
, ID Ni7LHIe; 7 IllG HiloIg
iGIl 80 II d m IiIC' il:t SeiAe,S
tf,itIn+ 0oS;C,,II,- I, TI ~ IL
Sra raaraT a1oft rs fbe nSJdanad mi
mails Jump and bound. snort and kick.
vainIy endeavoring to reach the end of
their winding way. But the straw is
soon packed and cut by the action of
their prancing hOOfs. The wells Of the
EpeOns at the top Of the stack, Of those
surrounding the fence, and the descend
ing showers of straw, add to theirfrenzy
and keep them to their utmost strength.
Should one stop, strive to turn, or hap
pen to fall, gOod-by ? He is a dead horse
--miuce-meat--chaff- almost q mo-
ment Of time. Should peon Slip from
the stack, no use to turn the horses out
to search for his remains. One single
turn of the tWO-thOusand-Iegge ma
chine, and it would be dust to dust, ash
es to ashes'--unless, peFchance, ne had
the sense and time to crawl and roll I'M
der the edge Of the stack.
Time for the TClay--and high time.
The steeds are Teelling, smoking and
painting. Frenzy and fright are driving
them to their death. Awaiting the
time when they are on the opposite side
of the stack, the bars are let down; per-
haps they make another round or two
before the opening is discovered; but
once found, they bound out, and are at
liberty fora time.
The batch of cut and broken straw is
not half threshed yet; so it is stirred up
tUmbled over, shook to peices, in readf-
ness for relay number two.
In they 90, but what difference!
The donkeys stumble over the bars. the
blind lead the blind, and both bring I'D
against the stack. The broken-zneed
and sOre-backed grunt forth their dis
provaI, as they knock and iostIe each
other in their endeavors to 90 f0Ur diff
ferent ways at the same time. Soon.
however, the whips of the drivers set
them Alright. and, urged bv the road
they start off and are made to achieve
a dOg-trot. The guard have now taken
their place in the RING. The lash falls
unmercifulIv. the goad Dricks an inch
deeD at every thrust. till finally fbe
mafor-domo cries tsBasta,U and that Iof
of straw is pronounced thrnsbed Tho
Iaded brrItas are dismissed wifi. q nart-
ing veil. the chafFthrown one side and
manner are continued until the whole
PIE IS useu up.
NIackS EieIdlhE rom forty to sixty
thousand J1REg"% OF wheat are common;
ana the UhreShlng thereOtgenerallY con-
sumes q weeks ora tOrtnights time.
Ine WInnoWlng takes place on the
first windy day; n tall stage is erected,
the wheat backed up by poems, and let
fall by degrees, that the wind may have