l8oo. On the Management of Hay. 1§I 



which their health and ufefuhiefs in a great meafure de- 

 pend. 



Where fuch a valuable intereft is at flake, we might 

 naturally expe£l to fee experiments made, and a fuitable 

 degree of attention paid, to form a regular fyftem of 

 management. It is much to be regreted, that in many 

 parts of the illand, no fuch attention has been paid ; and 

 the treatment, efpecially in many parts of North Britain, 

 is flovenly in the extreme, and very ill calculated to fecure 

 and preferve, in the highell degree of perfection, that fla- 

 vour, and thofe nourilhing qualities, without which, nei- 

 ther hay, nor indeed any defcription of herbage, can be 

 val'iiable. 



The firft confideration in the treatment of hay, Is, the 

 period at which it fliould be cut, and the weather moll 

 proper for that operation. The time raoft proper for 

 cutting the different kinds of grain, together with every 

 ftep of the after-management, are points well underftood, 

 and for the moll part ftridtly obferved ; every farmer be- 

 ing fenfible that any negledl of, or deviation from thefe 

 rules, will, by impairing the quality both of the grain and 

 ftraw, be produdllve of much trouble and lofs to himfelf. 

 It is fomewhat furprifing, that the fame kind of reafoning 

 Ihould not have been applied to the management of hay ; 

 as any diminution of its value, arifmg from improper 

 ti'eatment, mull be equally prejudicial both to the grower 

 and confumer of that article, as to the grower and con- 

 fumer of grain. 



The pra6tice of many farmers in North Britain is, to 

 allow their hay, not only to attain its ultimate growth, 

 but even to make fome progrefs towards decay, before it 

 is cut : To obtain a bulky crop, being their chief objeft, 

 every other confideration is difregarded ; and neither 

 the period of growth at which the cutting ought to 

 commence, the weather m.ofl proper for tliat operation, 

 nor indeed any ftep of the after-management, are re- 

 gulated by firft rules. In place of cutting the crop dur- 

 ing dry weather, and when it is free from every other but 

 its own natural moiilure, it is very often cut in a v/et 

 ftate, and on that account muil remain in the fv/ath a 

 confiderable time before it is fit for being put into cocks, 

 during which it lequires to be frequently turned and ex- 

 pofed to the fun aivj atmofphere, for the purpofe of 



