118 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE, 



milch cows and oxen, will find an advantage in cutting' hay early, 

 and curing it properly. * 



When I was a boy, my father used to raise and cure tobacco. 

 We never left it out in the sun. As soon as the tobacco was cut, 

 it was carried into a shed and put where the sun could not reach it. 

 Bye-and-bye it was packed down and allowed to sweat a little, 

 and then taken up and cured in the shed. I cure hay very much 

 as we used to cure our tobacco, and I find it is a profitable way, 



Mr, Wilder. When I was up before I intended to state my 

 mode of curing hay. It is to put the mowing machine into the 

 field after the dew is off; and if I catch what we call a good hay 

 day, I haul that hay into the barn at night, and spread it over the 

 scafibld, and keep doing so until I get all the scaifolds covered. I 

 let it lay there as long as I can, and then pitch into the mow. By 

 treating it in this way, I find that it comes out in winter almost 

 like grass. 



Mr. Thing. I don't believe in one or two men receiving all the 

 ridicule, and I want to stand between Mr. Wilder and Mr. Put- 

 nam, and take my share. 1 noticed there was quite a laugh when 

 they spoke about the second blossoming. The idea has prevailed 

 for a great many years, that tlie time to cut Timothy was when it 

 was in the second blossom. 1 have believed, and believe to-day, 

 that it blossoms twice. That is my belief. I do not know whether 

 such is the scientific fact or not ; and it makes no difference. 

 What I mean is, that sometimes, as we all know, it begins to show 

 blossoms, and after a few days, we do not see them ; then it comes 

 out in full bloom. It is in blossom then, whether you call it first 

 or second — luxuriant, full, sweet, fragrant. That is the time we 

 were taught, when a boy, to cut it. 



Now, if every man in this house will cut his hay as soon as 

 that, ^nd will cure it so as to compare with the time of cutting, 

 he will have hay, which, if not so good as might be, will be a great 

 deal better than most of the hay cut in the State of Maine. 



There is more danger in getting hay into the barn before it is 

 dry enough, than when it is dried too much, I don't want smoked 

 hay, nor mow-burnt hay, nor musty hay, nor sour hay, I don't 

 want it got into the barn when it needs to be spread on the scaf- 

 fold and kept there two or three days before it is put into the bay. 

 I want a good man to put it into the bay. There is no place 

 where it is more important to have a faithful man than theje. 

 You want your hay trod down solid. The next day put on some 



