THE TWO METHODS. 53 



easter, in which a fish would hardly perceive that he was 

 out of his native element. Now, in the former case, we make 

 hay too much, and, in the latter, we do not make it at all. 

 It is all important to put in hay in the middle of the day, 

 when it is dry and hot; then it will come out bright and 

 sweet. But if left out till four or five o'clock, or till a 

 vapor begins to form in the atmosphere, I will warrant it 

 to come out smoky every time. There is a meadow of 

 seventeen acres adjoining my farm, which cuts annually 

 about a ton and a half to the acre. The proprietor, an 

 old gentleman, with his sons, used to mow it by hand. You 

 will pardon me, if I briefly give you his method of making 

 hay. 



The meadow was carefully watched, and, when it was de- 

 cided that the grass was done growing, the signal was given 

 to commence. This time usually varied from one to two 

 weeks after I had finished my haying. All of the first day 

 and the morning of the second was spent in mowing till ten 

 A.M., when all hands went to spreading swaths, which took 

 them till noon. Then they were absent from the field about 

 an hour and a half, and, when they returned, they would 

 moderately proceed to grind their scythes, after which they 

 reposed under a big ash-tree till four P.M., patiently waiting 

 for the hay to make. They then began to rake and heap up 

 what was mowed the day previous : this job was usually 

 completed about eight p.m. The next day they would mow 

 till ten A.M., and then spread the cocks, and, after dinner, 

 the swaths, and then grind, and wait till four P.M. for the 

 hay to make. At this time the gang was divided, — one went 

 to raking and heaping up, and the other to drawing in, fin- 

 ishing about nine P.M. They all preferred the cool of the 

 evening to the noonday heat, and managed their work ac- 

 cordingly. Now, it will be observed that all this hay was 

 raked, heaped up, and drawn in, after the dew began to fall; 

 and the result was, of cburse, smoky hay, containing but 

 very little nourishment. That man used to buy hay of me 

 for his cows in the spring ; for he said they were like men, 

 they wanted a change. Mr. John Johnson of Framingham, 

 in a paper read before the Board, gave his method of making 

 hay. He cuts his grass when in the blossom, begins to mow 

 when the dew is off in the morning, and immediately after 



