THE HAY-CKOP. 131 



make it. It must be cocked over night and covered, if need 

 be, till it can be dried, either by the sun or the wind. I 

 gather the hay with a horse wheel-rake the first day, and 

 after the second day, when it has been cocked. I also highly 

 prize the drag-rake, that enables a boy a dozen years old to 

 keep the scatterings up with the team when carting, and to 

 clean up after the horse-rake. I this year procured a Bul- 

 lard's Improved Tedder. I am perfectly satisfied with it, and 

 should noL think I could get along without one through 

 another haj^-seasoD . It cost absolutely nothing for repairs, 

 and we made a number of lots of hay one day sooner than we 

 could have done without, and thus escaped a storm and a 

 great amount of hard work at re-opening and drying. Then 

 sometimes there would be a little dash of a shower, just a 

 sprinkle on our dry hay, that would have prevented its going 

 into the barn, had we not had a tedder with which in a half 

 hour we could make the hay as dry as before the shower. 



HAY vs. ROOTS. 



By the help of such haying-machines as the farmers can now 

 command, I believe that on good grass-lands a farmer had 

 better give his attention to raising grass and hay for his stock, 

 instead of the heavy root-crops which require so much labor 

 in planting, cultivating, weeding, hoeing, harvesting, storing 

 and feeding out. If I could buy roots as I can get grain at 

 less prices than I could afibrd to raise them for, I would like 

 to feed a few every day through the winter to my dairy and 

 growing stock. But at the present prices of labor, and with 

 the present facilities for harvesting the hay-crop, I think I 

 cannot afford to raise many roots. And with such hay as 

 I can have by high manuring and frequent cuttings, I do 

 not believe I very much need them. My cows are never 

 troubled with indigestion or constipation when they are given 

 a liberal allowance of good rowen. 



PASTURING MOW^mG-FIELDS. 



I do not believe in feeding rowen in the field. With mow- 

 ers that easily cut an acre per hour, and tedders and rakes 

 that will turn and gather it together in good weather ready 

 for the cart in another hour, we can better afford to feed 



