it was ripe. Later, the cradle replaced the sickle. The threshing was done with a flail. After the cradle came the reaper, which left the grain on the ground to be bound by hand. Next came the binder for cutting, and a mill for threshing, driven by horse power, and later by a gasoline stationery engine. Still later, when more power was available, a straw blower was added to the threshing machine. Now, self-propelled combines cut and thresh the grain in the field, from where it is hauled home in trucks or bulk tanks and augered into the bin.

Some varities of oats are Russell, Cabot, Abegweit and Clinton. Barley varities include Conquest, Herta and Charlottetown 80. Wheat varities are Opal, Selkirk and White Fife. Robert and James MacLaurin grew the first flax in Belmont.

HAY

The first hay was cut with a scythe and raked with a large wooden hand rake. Mowing machines came to the Island in the 1860's. The first machine was a Manny followed by the Dodge. The Manny was

a reaper with a removable platform and then used as a mower for cutting hay.

A horse drawn rake was invented that raked one swarth at a time. Next came the two wheel self dump rake which was able to rake two swarths at once. The early farmers coiled the hay, spread It out to dry, then it was loaded on horse drawn wagons and put on the loft with a hay fork and carrier which was hoisted by means of a horse.

. Now the hay is cut with a hay mower, sometimes crimped and left a day or two to dry, then raked, baled and quite often hauled into a barn the same day. Some farmers leave a small amount of hay

standing longer to ripen, then have it swarthed and combined for Timothy Seed.

HANDI CRAFTS

As it was essential for our ancestors to make the material for their own clothing from what they

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