, moved by a small quantity of water. The first attempts to
substitute horse or other power for manual in threshing were directed
to the revolution of jointed flails, which should strike the floor on
which the corn was spread, but this proved unsatisfactory, so that
rubbing the grain out of the straw by revolving cylinders was
tried,[517] Young, in his northern tour, met a Mr. Clarke at Belford
in Northumberland, who was famous for mechanics,[518] among his
inventions being a threshing machine worked by one horse, which does
not seem to have effected much. Eventually Mr. A. Meikle, of Houston
Mill near Haddington, in 1798 erected a machine the principles of
which, much modified, are those of to-day; and in 1803 Mr. Aitchison,
of Drumore in East Lothian, first applied steam to threshing. It was
some time, however, before this beneficent invention was generally
used, and when the machines were used they were usually driven by
horse--or water-power until about 1850. In 1883 Messrs. Howard, of
Bedford, adapted a sheaf-binding apparatus to the threshing machine.
With new implements came new crops; the Swede turnip was grown on some
farms in Notts just before 1800, but it is not known who introduced
it.[519] The mangel wurzel was introduced about 1780-5 by Parkyns, and
prickly comfrey in 1811.

The year 1795 was one of great scarcity owing to the wet and stormy
summer, and in August wheat went up to 108s. a quarter.[520] As usual
many other causes but the right one were put forth, and the old
accusations of monopoly, forestalling, and regrating were heard again.
The war with France, with more reason, was considered to have helped
in raising prices, but the chief cause was the bad season. The members
of both Houses of Parliament bound themselves to reduce the
consumption of bread in their homes by one-third, and recommended
others to a similar reduction. It was a period of terrible distress
for the agricultural labourer. His wages were about 9s. a week, and it
was impossible for him to live on them, so that what is known as 'the
allowance system' came in. At Speenhamland in Berkshire, in this year,
the magistrates agreed that it was not expedient to help the labourer
by regulating his wages according to the statute of Elizabeth, but
recommended the farmers to increase their pay in proportion to the
present price of provisions, and they also granted relief to all poor
and industrious men according to the price of bread. They we