New-York tribune., 1879-08-27
HARVEST TIME.
r1yLps. nILr-roPs AND BARNS.


| RULES.
| RoxBUgY. y. V Aug 23,-In our inland pastoral
| counties every Spring aud Summer month gives
| urominenee to some one perfume from held or
wood. L. May it IL the bloSsOming orchards mingled
with various eafy and buddy smells IN June II Is
the blooming clover and numerous warm grassy
s.eD ts of the fields with occasional whit OF the
blooming rye the hills In July the perfume Oh
the clover aud the daisies still linger but the prom
inent and characteristic odor of this month IS the
ever welcome scent OF new mown hay, with dash
here and there of the harvest breath of the
ripening grain. August glCries in the blossom
ing buckwbeat; ITS rich honcycd perfume is
ON all the air; every breeze is laden with it, it sug
rests untold wealth Of sweet; thitherwar'! go
hunnling the becs-hOney- bees, bumblebees, wasps
hornets and every insect that loves honey. Thith-
erward also goes the bee-hunteT and seeks to line
the bees from the field to their tree in the woods,
and often with success. From the point where L
write | can great white patches Of the blooming
grain catered over tho landscape far ana near.
some far up tho mountain side. set IN framework
of primitive woods or else completely saddlng the
mountains broad back, or else hanging on some
gentcr slope, sandwiched perhaps between "A held
of ripencd oats and patch Of dark green
r3ukJy growing Indian Buckwheat Is one OF
the staple products Of this part of the State
and is OF superior quality. 1t il the only cereal we
grow that Yields honey to the bee aad that has
sweet delicious perfume. There IS a section III
Pennsylvania. round abOut the oil regions, where
the people arc called &" Buckwheats," because the
country produces little other grain, and buck
wheat furnishes the farmers chief food the year
round Ii is the principal " wheat" " grown in this
section Of our own State, and many family sees
little other bread than pancakes during the
colder months; yet certain other grain Is grown IN
ont
country and the harvest is inst now at its full
Far and wide the farmers cutting their OATS and
the cradle rules tae land. Three days ago | rode
across tine mountains, from Delaware into the edge
of Schoharie Cou1ty, and the principal feature of
the landscape everywhere were tue Graders IN
the oat fields. Sometimes the field Was
tilted up against the hill at pretty
steep angle allowing one to look upon 1t ~ upon %
page held MP before him. The straight yellow lines
left by the Graders, the dotted lines left by the
rskers and binders, the close double ranks left by
tho boys stocking tup, or themovIrg tcsms,liscaly
before o sled hauling the grain to the bsFus, were
all seen at glance at every now Wow opened be-
fore us. When near the top Of the mountain that
| separates the towns Of ROxburY and Stamford,
paused TO noto two lusty cradlors at work in an
oat-fsM above me. They were swinging away in
! full view Of lonI stretch OF farms beneath .hem
and blown upon by the coolest and freshest of noun
tain breezeS. 4 hen-hawk sailed far alOft, balanc-
ing upon the wing, and 1ock Of sheep whose paths
thread ali tine mountain were ehoTmg their cuds IN
a grove in IN adjoining field.
Now that the moving machine has Bsurped the
domain OF the scythe, even in this mountainous
district, the Grader 1T his work is about the most
picturesque object to he seen in our rural districts
He Is even pleasing to tine eye shan the mower
was he Goes not stoop and creep rs the mower did,
! Il hnl. ba
strikes less rapidly but each stroke carries him
further; he walks up to the grain, and lays an arm
ful of IT behind and beside him ut each blow, the
fingers" of lis cradle catching the stalks and
keeping them straight the blade cuts them. Then
his occupation il frequently upon the hIi-tOps
and mOuntau-sides than the mowers was. How
this work brings Out the style aud movement Of
man | could but note the difference in this re-
spect of the tvo Graders have spoken of. One Of
them was short, compact and undcmorstrdtiYe he
delivered his strokes diect, mat:er-of-faet way
the other was TALL fluent, limber-jointed. and tho
work gave full play to his ply idlosyncTacies
how he swooped down upon the grain what play
of hips and shoulders what graceful curves and
uDdulations with side glances right aud left! fo ap-
parontiy saw and knew whatever WAS going IN
the spaces about him; he caught tho sound OF our
wagon slowly creeping up tho long mountain road
before his cODpanIOu and a glimpse OF me walking
eisurely on ahead. II Is probable the shoIt-b9Ckcd
man had more work in him, but ms limbT-hipped
OmpanIOn certainly cut the pretttf hguIe, as wen
as tho wider sWlth.
This morning the boys mt tho farm where | am
stopping stood and whet their cradle scythes in the
shade of the house. and looked littc dreadlngly |
thought, toward tho hilltop where their work lay.
/ saw them ill their Jug at tho spout, and With
pail of luncheon ~ nand, take their way slowly up
the long steep hill Before long followed them.
The lot Uhore they were grading stood at an angie
of nearly fOry-ye degrees and right up this steep
surface they were charging the grain. Ihoy
carried their swathS ~ the farmer saY-that is,
cradicd but way IT was Impossible tn cradle
in anv other. They cut of tho SIDE OF the hill hrs.
and left tho gentler incline OF the broad top TO be
cut at right angles 10 it, Still higher mp the hands
of neignbor grading oats also. indeed on the
very shoulder of the mouutain tho field have re-
ferred to being more OH the hips and side And the
oats were waist high and well flied on these wild
unfertized uplands In fact tho crops of all kinds
this and adjoining counties are excellent this year
The barns literally bursting with plenty While
the South and West even tho western part of this
State, have been suffering from severe
drought, rain has been frequent and cOp
GUS here aud thB farmer has cause
for gTumbling except the low prices And he prob
ably would not gTumble this account If ho did
not feel il his right and duty To grumbc about some
thing. Because believe 1t a fact that what are
called hard times" are good times IN the long rum
that Is safe, healthy tines there Is no haSty in
secure OyergrOwth; the plant makes root and frul;
the oats heaYier If tho straw Is less. How much
grain there IN rank seeming material pros
pcrlty during the rule OF high prices aud how nuci
worthless chaf and straw the hail of fortune in
the past six years has pretty we'll demonstrated
Looking over these Delaware County farms, many
of which have known from bOyhoOd, can point
ont all the successful farmt rs and know thcy have
made their money or laid securely the foundations
of their wealth during low prices. The growth of
this part of the country at least that was made dur
ing the good % greeEback times was mostly hct-
tious aud has not stood the test
Bat am forgetting my Graders on the hilltop.
sat Oh the gray Chen covered stone. e.wall long
time and watched them and ate goose caps " and
/ blackberries and looked down upon the green
rolling farms beneath me- This is one Of tho most
simply pastoral parts of the Sate-mOst redolcnt Of
cattle aud OF The main force Of the Catsll
wave Of mountains is spent east and southeast OF