CROPS. 281 



il The mowers are followed by women, who take the newly- 

 cut swath up in regular small sheaves or handfuls, tying them 

 near the top, which is done quickly by a few stalks of the grass. 

 The handful is then held near the top. raised a few feet from 

 the ground, and by giving it a quick motion downwards, the 

 resistance of the air expands the bottom, so as to give it a firm 

 position on the ground, thus : J^ife It w ^ be seen from the 

 form that the rain, as it falls, must run quickly off, 



while the inside is kept per- ||l\ fectly dry and airy. 

 The process of hav-makina: fill then suffers no inter- 



* / O / /I . l V\V\\V 



ruption, and on the outside ^^^||\^^oiily during the sho wers. 



&quot; These small sheaves are very soon, without further trouble, 

 ready for being put together in small cocks, keeping all the root 

 ends outwards, and placing one on the top to throw off the wet. 

 In this way. the lower ends are dried, and the whole, without 

 running the smallest risk of spoiling, is soon ready for stacking.&quot; &quot; 



The grass from which it is intended to save the seed, is al 

 ways done up in sheaves like grain, and remains in small stacks, 

 or, as they are sometimes called, shocks, until it is ready to be 

 threshed. 



19. RYE GRASS. The next grass most cultivated here is the 

 rye grass. Of this there are two prominent kinds, the common, 

 (lolium perenne,) and the Italian, (lolium Italicum.} Of the 

 former kind there are several varieties, distinguished mainly by 

 the length of their endurance in the soil, some lasting only for a 

 year, others three or four years, and some producing much more 

 herbage than others. The common rye grass has, in my opin 

 ion, no advantage over our timothy or herds grass, either in its 

 productiveness, or the quality of the hay. Of the Italian rye 

 grass I have already spoken much at large. It is in high repute, 

 and is invaluable for the alternate husbandry. &quot;Its limited 

 duration, also,&quot; says Mr. Lawson, &quot; fits it well for sowing in 

 mixture with the other sorts, intended for permanent pasture, as 

 it dies out, and gives place to the weak and slow-maturing per 

 ennial sorts, which are destined ultimately to fill the ground.&quot;* 



* &quot; In respect to duration it may be termed a sub-perennial, beyond which title 

 even the most permanent varieties of lolium perenne have no claim. In most 

 cases, two seasons of Italian rye grass are all that can with certainty be depended 



24* 



