SECRETARY'S REPORT. 153 



the weather is good ; the next day succeeding, the cocks arc opened 

 and turned up and stored, when it is as dry as can be handled with- 

 out crumbling, (a stage that requires particular attention,) for more 

 drying than that is injurious. 



We let our clover lay in swath until the upper side is wilted, 

 then turn it over ; next day cock it up with forks and hand rakes, 

 and let it stand over night ; then re-cock it once a day until dry 

 enough, never spreading the cocks after once made. Clover cut in 

 full bloom and cured without the bloom fading, will retain its leaf 

 and be worth as much per ton as other hay, but it takes a larger 

 pile for a ton than it does of fine hay, 



I prefer to cut clover in bloom, and other grass before the seed 

 is full, when it contains the most nutriment ; it cuts easier then 

 than it does after that period, which is a saving of labor, and all 

 grasses that I am acquainted with, as their seeds ripen, their leaves 

 ripen also, and fall or wither away. 



Early cutting with good curing, secures good hay well filled with 

 sugar, starch, gum and oil, just what is required to make flesh, fat, 

 &c. ; but late cut hay only contains woody fibrous substance, with 

 a little seed, the rest being shaken out before the cattle get it. 

 Early cutting gives the roots a chance to sprout up and send forth 

 a second crop before they are exhausted ; but late cutting serves 

 to kill the roots, by taking all the sap from them and leaving them 

 in their weakest state and their stalks open to hold water to kill or 

 sicken all below. 



Great loss is sustained by late cutting. Most farmers hegin to 

 cut about one week too late. I reckon labor worth one-third more in 

 early haying than in late. Herdsgrass is more apt to rust than it 

 iised to be, and the old rule of letting it ripen its seed, endangers 

 it for hay. 



I have used top dressing some, in order to test the Avorth of it, 

 or in other words, to know if it would do any good, for many of 

 the farmers here said it would not ; but it will do good and may be 

 made and applied to pay well. If manure cannot be made and ap- 

 plied to the land so as to pay something I am a ruined man." 



By Harry Hammond, Sanford. 



" It is best to seed down grass land in the spring, because the 

 roots get larger and will stand the winter better. Again, you can 

 sow clover with safety, and have better hay by its being mixed 



