New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-05-07
THERURAL LIFE OF ENGLAND
BY CAPTAIN MAYNE REID.

1yir THATCHER. THE DRA1NER AND THE
SHEEP SIIEARER.

sion during the few weeks Of the year while 1t
lasts Some small farmers thatch their own stacks;
and others, who chance TO have deXterous mana
in their employ, dispense with the services OF
the regular rick-thatcher. Generally. however
he is called in. and as both hay-ricks ana wheat
stacks after being built are necessarily allowed TO
stand some time so that they may get set peiore
being thatched, the thatcher has an opportunity VI
undertaking the work several farms having
secured his engagements he goes from one 10 INC
other IN succession as the ricks become ready 10
have their winter top-cOat put on. so"e",i"'
elaborate affair this IT, and rather costly one 'ie
thatch being Of the best wheaton straw srlie"'
drawn and separated into handfuls. these laiu on
9rodded" and buckled down." with as much care
as Though II were the matching OF house Al lhc
rickya,d be alongside or within near we" OF
publc road extra pains are taken 10 give e'c'S-
thing n TRIM tidy appearance, both farmer anu
thatcher taking pride IN this. Inc square Vi
oblong-square ricks usually OF hay, Will nave an
elaborate plating along the ridge. while thefcuhu
ones Of wheat barley or oats show their SUBMITS
n cockade-like tuft. sometimes globe-shaped' put
more frequently cut to resemble wine-glass, and
hearing that name The payment for rick-thatch-
inc is not bv the day. but by the rick or stack, ana
of course varies according TO their size; ana as the
work is only temporary. wages are high IN proper
tion Besides the thatcher is no common larm
hand but a craftsman of skill; usually man over
middle age sober and steady IN habits sometimes
he is an old man, but from having lived regular
life still keeps hale and strong in every way up 10
his work. which. just as with the ploughman' he
executes in a superior manner.
When in autumn the thatchlng season comes 10
an end as if necessarily must he betakes himself to
some other calling, which in nine eases out OF ten
is that of the Hedger- another speciality of English
uirip skill nd
The bleaching" of a hedge is art IN itself.
which an ordinary farm hand is not up 10; WORK
also which every winter furnishes employment TO a
coodlv number of men for several weeks. or even
months In most parts Of England the farm fields
are fenced in with hawthorn hedges; the thorns
when young and "quck" being planted IN row,
along the sloping face of a straight earthcu en-
bankincnt near lis crest. They are protected by
post and rail till they attain sufficient growth 10
form a fence of themselves In the lapse OF years
their thick branching heads will have gone mp some
three or four feet above the carthen ridge WA'ch
has become dilapidated and between their etoles
there will be spaces wide enough to let sheep
through Gaps in some districts called glatS'
will also appear where horses or cattle have taken
advantage of a weak place in the hedge and broken
through It, Sometimes. also the hounds may have
swept over the fam. with ruck OF gailopng
horseIpen making the glats wider and worse.
To remedy all this and put the fence III proper con-
dition is the work of the hedger, who Is now en-
ployed to peach" the hedge. This he does by
hacking tho stems of the th0rns, bending them
down and working them into a waffle around Tbs
called hedge-stakeS." which he has already driven
firmly into the embankment forming the base OF the
fence. The stems are hacked abont TWO feet above
the ridges crest. and just enough to make them
breakable; then they are laid down horizontally,
4 oh ulpl IN q a. GRO
The haw thorn being a hardy shrub and difficult 10
kill In many hedges the stoes stand too thlcb to
ndmit of this bending over another; i'll which
ase some are cut clean through dragged out and so
hinned to requirement. When there are long
breaks. rs often happens, these are made cood ny
stakes and wicker of detached branches; but
this soon decays and needs renewal nearly every
year.
A newly "peachcd" hedge, when done by
hedger thoroughly up to his work-and few are
not up to it's rather pleasing sight; the
stakes at regular distances apart their heads on
the same level and the thOrns LAID symmetrlcauy
along Them imparting an idea of strength combined
with neatmess No animal will attempt breaking
through it then. and still less after spring brings
the hawthorns into leaf. making it a solid mass of
green.
For tools the hedger has n bill-hook. or rather
two of them, one long-handled the other short
these are the ordinary choppers The axe is also an
adjunct of his calling; but there is yet anothei
equipment. without which he would be Ill able to
follow it. or only with hands and wrists sorely
iaceratcd. somewhat costly affair ii is. being
pair of sealslin gloves. for which lie has TO pay
four shings and siXpence-rather more than
doliar-a heavy expenditure for a poor laboring
man. But the gloves essential to his safety,
ana mast be sealskin-no ordinary hide or leather
orH laff 90 hQ nays
the four and sxpcnce, knowing he cannot help
himself but with some what of grimace.
The scale of remuneration Tor hedge bleaching is
one penny per linea yard if the thcrns be regular
and not too thick OF left standing for too long a
time In these cases. and also when there are fire.
uuent breaks in the fence needing to be made good,
nearly double the above price has TO be paid him.
OF OF e shilling The pole OF five and half yards. As
his work ~ neither constant nor permanent, for
this reason while 1t lasts. it is more remnncrative
than ordinary farm labor But the hedger is rarely
out of a lob; for when both rick-thatching and
bleaching fail him, there is pruning to do in shrub
berries and orchards. The former, must needs he,
he undertakes by the day, while the latter is done
by the tree the price charged for pear and apple
trees being about threepence each, exclusive of
yictuals and drink Having just paid the bill
for having my own orchard put i'll order, speak
from personal knowledge.
Cognate with farm labor though distinct from it,
is the work of The Drainer this too needing knOwl
edge of a special kind. But it is only in certain dis
trictS of country where the land lies low aud wet
that the dTaincr is acknowledged separate entity
Of the population as regards his calling. There he
is looked upon in the light of craftsman. rather
than laborer; for besides following out trench he
must know something about levels. in what direc-
ton water will run how TO lay the conduit pines,
and construct culyerts. Thus accomplished. his
wages are of course far above what are paid the
ordinary laborer. and nearly on par with those of
the brcklayer and carpenter.