MOWING THE FIELD

Hawera Star, Volume LIV, 20 April 1935, Page 10

MOWING THE FIELD

AN ENJOYABLE HOLIDAY

Bob and Joamwere spending part of their summer holiday at an old farm. It was a rambling ramshackle place, with the most jolly barns and granaries, which were dark, and smelt of warm milk or sweet hay. They wandered about the fields, helping Joe, the cowman, to bring the cattle in at milking time, or running out with Mrs Briggs to feed the hens and collect the eggs. One morning they met Joe with a large dangerous-looking' scythe over his shoulder.

"Ohl” cried Joan. "Joe’s going mowing! Let’s go with him.” Joe turned around as the children called to him, his large face opening into a grin. "May we come with you, please?” asked Joan. "Are you going to mow?” was Bob’s question.

"Why, no, young, feller-me-lad, I’m not going for exactly to mow,” answered Joe in his usual slow fashion. "I’d rather say, now, that I was going to open out lilse.” "Open out! What’s that?” asked

Bob. "‘Well, you come along with me, and you’ll see.” "Oh!” cried Bob, "you’re going to cut the corn.” "Right in one, Mister Bob,” said;Joe. Carefully putting the point of his scythe on a small flat pebble, Joe drew from liis pocket a stone shaped like a large bread roll. "What’s that for?” inquired Juan. "This ’ere? This is a whetstone, this is.”

"It doesn’t look wet to me,” remarked Bob, eyeing it closely, and: l>e* coming more interested than ever when Joe ran it up and down the tyade of the scythe with a quick, easy motion. "Does that sharpen it?”

"It does that.” And Joe proved hla remarks by telling the children to keep back—r"out of ’t swing o’ ’t blade,” while he cut a laTge swathe of pats as easily as you cut butter. But Joan hasn’t finished asking questions, "Are you going to cut all this field like this? It will take you an awful long time.”

"No, missie, that I’m not. I just cut this path for the binder, like, so it can get its blade in.” "Oh, I.see,” said Joan, though she secretly wondered what a binder was. Neither of the children had to wait very long to find out, for next morning they hurried down to the field of

oats, and, as they got near it, they heard a clankety clank, clankety clank, and saw a huge machine, with arms like Ted windmills, going steadily round the field. It Was driven by Ted, the head horseman, and was drawn by three horses, all pulling hard.

Joe, the farmer, Billie the hoy, and one or two farm hands Were all busy putting the . sheaves of hay up into nice neat little houses, and, of course, Bob and Joan wanted to help. The farmer, with a wink at Joe, said he would be pleased if they would help him, so they set to work with a will. But the sheaves of oats were very heavy, and after half an hour Joan voted it would be more useful if they went up to the farm to help Annie bring down some refreshments. Hot mugs of tea and hrrge bacon sandwiches, ever so fat—how they enjoyed them, in spite of having had a good breakfast.