Like most other ubiquitous customs, corn-gleaning has been frequently
described by the painter and the poet, yet I much question whether in
any case the picture is true to nature. A certain amount of idealism
is infused into all the sketches--indeed, in the experience of numbers
of readers, this is the sole feature in most of them. Such a defect is
easily accounted for. Those who have depicted the custom were
practically unacquainted with its details, and invariably made the
sacred story the model of their picture, without taking into
consideration the changes induced by time or local peculiarity. Even
the beautiful and glowing description of English corn-gleaning given
by Thomson, is felt by practical observers to be greatly too much of
the Oriental hue, too redolent of the fragrance of a fanciful Arcadia.
It is a pity that this interesting custom is not more faithfully
transcribed into our national poetry; and it is with the hope that a
future Burns may make the attempt, that the writer of this article
ventures to give a short history of his gleaning-days, believing the
subject to be interesting enough to engage the attention of the
general reader.
Though born amid the grandeur and sublimity of Highland scenery, I
was, at a very early age, brought to reside in a small village on the
east coast--small now, but once the most famous and important town in
that part of Scotland. Among the scenes of these times, none stand out
more vividly than the 'gathering-days'--the harvest of the year's
enjoyment--the time when a whole twelvemonth's happiness was
concentrated in the six weeks' vacation of the village-school. I do
not recollect the time when I began to glean--or _gather_, as it is
locally termed--probably I would, when very young, follow the others
to the near farms, and gradually become, as I grew older, a regular
gleaner. At that time the gleaners in our district were divided into
two gangs or parties. One of these was headed by four old women, whose
shearing-days were past; and as they were very peaceable, decent
bodies, it was considered an honour to get attached to their band. The
other was composed of the wilder spirits of the place, who thought
nothing of jumping dikes, breaking hedges, stealing turnips, and
committing other depredations on the farms which they visited.
Fortunately, my quiet disposition, and supposed good character,
procured my admittance into the more respectable gang; and I had the
honour of sharing its fortunes during the five or six years I
continued a gleaner. I was surprised to see one of these old ladies
toddling about the village only a few weeks ago, though her
gathering-days are long since past. She is the last survivor of the
quorum, and is now fast fading into dotage.
Although the two gleaning-parties never assumed a positive antagonism,
they took care to conceal their movements from each other as well as
possible. When one of our party received information of a field being
'ready,' the fact was secretly conveyed to all the members, with an
injunction to be 'in such a place at such an hour' on the following
morning; and the result generally was, that we had a considerable
portion of the field gleaned before the other gang arrived. But we did
not always act on previous information. Many a morning we departed on
the search, and frequently wandered all day without 'lifting a head.'
These were the best times for us young ones, whose hearts were too
light to care for more than the fun of the thing, as we then had a
glorious opportunity of getting a feast of bramble-berries and wild
raspberries in the woods and moors; but to the older members of our
party the disappointment was anything but pleasant.
I have spoken of a field being _ready_. Now, to some readers, this may
convey a very erroneous idea. We learn that in early times not only
were the gleaners admitted among the sheaves, or allowed to 'follow
the shearers,' as the privilege is now termed, but, in a certain
instance, the reapers were commanded to leave a handful now and then
for the gleaner. Now, that custom is entirely changed: the sheaves are
all taken away from the field; and instead of the reapers leaving
handfuls expressly for the gleaners, the farmer endeavours by raking
to secure as much as possible of what they accidentally leave on the
stubble. I am not inclined to quarrel with the condition that requires
the stocks to be removed ere the gleaners gain admittance; because
many would be tempted to pilfer, and besides, the ground on which they
stand could not be reached. But there is no doubt that the custom of
gleaning was originally a public enactment; while the fact that it has
spread over the whole earth, and descended to the present time, shews
that it still exists on the statute-book of justice, in all the length
and breadth of its original signification; and it amounts almost to a
virtual abrogation of the privilege when the stubble is thus gleaned.
At all events, if these sentiments are not in consonance with the new
lights of the day, let them be pardoned in a _ci-devant_ gleaner.
Upon arriving at a field, our first object was to choose a locality.
If we were first on the ground, we took a careful survey of its
geographical position, and acted accordingly. When the field was
level, and equally exposed, it mattered little to what part we went;
but in the event of its being hilly, or situated near a wood, we had
to consider where the best soil lay, and where the sun had shone most.
It was in the discovery of these important points that the sagacity
and experience of our aged leaders were most brilliantly displayed,
and gave to our party an immense superiority over the other, whose
science was much more scanty; it therefore happened that we had
generally the largest quantity and best quality of grain. These
preliminaries being settled--and they generally took less time than I
have done to write--we began work, commencing, of course, at the end
of the field by which we entered, and travelling up or down the rigs.
The process of gleaning may be generally considered a very simple one;
but in this, as in everything else, some knowledge is necessary, and
no better proof of this could be had, than in the quantities gathered
by different persons in the same space of time. A careless or
inexperienced gatherer could easily be detected by the size and
_shape_ of his single. The usual method practised by a good gleaner
was as follows:--Placing the left hand upon the knee, or behind the
back, the right was used to lift the ears, care being taken to grasp
them close by the 'neck.' When the right hand had gathered perhaps
twenty or thirty ears, these were changed into the left hand; the
right was again replenished from the ground; and this process was
continued till the left was full, or rather till the gleaner heard one
of his or her party exclaim: 'Tie!' when the single was obliged to be
completed. Thus it is clear that a good eye and a quick hand are
essential to a good gleaner.
Whenever one of the members of the party found that the left hand was
quite full, he or she could compel the others to finish their singles
whether their hand was full or not, by simply crying the
afore-mentioned word 'Tie!' At this sound, the whole band proceeded to
fasten their bundles, and deposit them on the rig chosen for their
reception. The process of 'tying' it is impossible to explain on
paper; but I can assure my readers it afforded great scope for taste
and ingenuity. Few, indeed, could do it properly, though the singles
of some were very neat. The best 'tyer' in our party, and indeed in
the district, was a little, middle-aged woman, who was a diligent,
rapid gatherer, and generally the first to finish her handful. Her
singles were perfectly round, and as flat at the top as if laid with a
plummet. Having finished tying, we laid down our singles according to
order, so that no difficulty might be felt in collecting them again,
and so proceeded with our labour.
When we got to the end of the field, the custom was, to finish our
handfuls there, and retrace our steps for the purpose of collecting
the deposits, when each of us tied up our collected bundles at the
place from which we originally started. To the lover of the
picturesque, the scene while we sat resting by the hedge-side, was one
of the most beautiful that can be imagined. Spread over the field in
every direction were the gleaners, busily engaged in their cheerful
task; while the hum of their conversation, mingling with the melody of
the insect world, the music of the feathery tribes, and the ripple of
the adjoining burn, combined to form a strain which I still hear in
the pauses of life.
On our homeward road from a successful day's, gathering, how merry we
all were, in spite of our tired limbs and the load upon our heads!
Indeed it was the load itself that made us glad; and we should have
been still merrier if that had been heavier. How sweet it was to feel
the weight of our industry--no burden could possibly be more grateful;
and I question much whether that was not the happiest moment in Ruth's
first gleaning-day, when she trudged home to her mother-in-law with
the ephah of barley, the produce of her unflagging toil.
When harvest was over, and the chill winds swept over cleared and
gleaned fields, our bond of union was dissolved, each retired to his
respective habitation, and, like Ruth, 'beat out that he had gleaned.'
In many cases, the result was a sufficient supply of bread to the
family for the ensuing winter. It was singular that, during the rest
of the year, little or no intercourse was maintained between those who
were thus associated during harvest. They lived together in the same
degree of friendship as is common among villagers, but I could never
observe any of that peculiar intimacy which it was natural to suppose
such an annual combination would create. They generally returned to
their ordinary occupations, and continued thus till the sickle was
again heard among the yellow corn, and the _stacks_ were growing in
the barn-yard. Then, as if by instinct, the members of the various
bands, and the independent stragglers, left their monotonous tasks,
and eagerly entered on the joys and pleasures of the gathering-days.
I might add many reminiscences of the few seasons I spent in this
manner; but I am afraid that, however interesting they might prove in
rural districts, they are too simple to interest the general reader.
Let me observe, however, before concluding, that the great majority of
the farmers at the present day are decidedly unfavourable to gleaning,
although the veneration that is generally entertained for what is
ancient, and the traditionary sacredness which surrounds this
particular custom, prevent them from openly forbidding its
continuance. They have introduced, however, laws and rules which
infringe sadly its original proportions, and which, in many instances,
are made the instruments of oppression.