GRASS CROP. 121 



cock, and then give it some air sun and get it in. If the weather 

 promises to be favorable, I would let my hay stand in the cock a 

 number of days. If I could be sure of the weather, I would never 

 get any in until I got, it all into the cock. I would get it into 

 small bunches and let it stand, and get it in after it was mowed 

 and cocked. 



Now the question comes up, how much shall we make that hay ? 

 I do not recollect that that subject has been agitated here. There 

 are various opinions about the amount of making that is necessary. 

 The theory is obtaining about the country that we may mow our 

 grass at the, second blossoming, in the morning after the dew is off, 

 rake it up at three or four o'clock in the afternoon, cart it in, and 

 put it into a solid mow in a tight barn ; and that afternoon mow 

 is completed, we should put some old dry hay or some, straw on 

 top to absorb the moisture. That experiment has been tried all 

 over the country, and I understand has proved succeesful. One 

 of my townsmen says that he mows his grass in the space of seven 

 days, and secures it all before the 15th day of July. His practice 

 is to mow in the morning, rake up towards night, get it into the 

 barn, pack it down solid, and he challenges any man to produce 

 better haj'- than his. He says that a practical farmer who helped 

 him put that hay into his barn, told him it must rot ; but it came 

 out bright and good and sweet, Mr. E. M. Clark of Winthrop 

 village, tried that experiment. He cut some of his hay in a 

 greenish state, perhaps in the "first blossom." The first lot of 

 hay he put in was a little musty. The last, which he cut at the 

 "second blossoming,,' as he termed it, is perfectly sweet and 

 bright. 



When I was a boy my father made his hay too much ; he dried 

 it up. When I came to occupy the old farm, I made it about two- 

 thirds as much. It kept as well, and was greener, sweeter and 

 tender, when we fed it out to our cattle. My son now has poses- 

 sion of the farm, and he makes hay about two-thirds as much as I 

 did, and it keeps well. It is a fact that we formerly made our hay 

 too much. 



Now with regard to salt. I cannot conceive why any intelligent 

 fai-mer should object to salting hay. Our cattle crave salt, and it 

 does them good. We feed them with salt once a week, perhaps, 

 in the summer time, when we turn them to pasture. Do not cat- 

 tle require salt in the winter also ? If cattle require salt, if salt 

 does them good, let them have it. Now, how will you administer 



