Cultivation of Grafs Land. Hay-making Procefs of. 435 



hay which was laft night in baftard cocks will this afternoon be in a proper ftate to 

 be carried, as in fine feafons it may moftly be performed on the third day; but when 

 the weather has been cool and cloudy, no part of it probably will be fit to carry. 

 In that cafe, the firft bufinefs after dinner is to rake that which was in grafs cocks 

 laft night into double windrows; then the grafs which was this morning fpread from 

 the fwaths into fingle windrows. After this the hay which was laft night in 

 baftard cocks is made up into full fized cocks, and care taken to rake the hay up 

 clean, and alfo to put the rakings upon the top of each cock. And laftly, the 

 double windrows are put up into baftard cocks and the fingle ones into grafs-cocks,- 

 as in the preceding days. On the fourth day the great cocks juft defcribed are 

 moftly carried before dinner. The other operations are fimilar to thofe of the 

 former days, and proceed in the fame order, continuing them daily until the whole 

 is finifhed. 



During the whole courfeof hay-making the grafs mould, as much as poffiblc, 

 be protected both in the day and night againft rain and dew by cocking.* 



In diftric ts where the hay feafon is later and the weather more changeable, it 

 would often be dangerous to expofe the hay fo much abroad as in the above pro- 

 cefs : a more cautious method ftiould probably be adopted. In fuch cafes, inftead 

 of keeping the hay almoft conftantly fpread out and expofed to the atmofphere 

 as in the preceding method, it may be better to put it into fcnall cocks foon after 

 it has been cut down and become a little made ; thefe mould then be frequently 

 turned over but not fpread out, except when the weather is in fuch a fine ftate as 

 toinfure their being put up again in the fame ftate, without injury from the falling of 

 rain.f This method is much more flow, though the hay is lefs expofed to danger 

 in wet weather, than in that which has been defcribed above j and when there is 

 much heat it may be made with little trouble or expenfe, and without much expen 

 diture of its nutritious juices. 



Another practice that has been found ufeful in fuch fituations is,to break out the 

 grafs that is mown,turn and windrow it the firft fine day,and alfo to put it into fmail 

 cocks when the ground is dry : on the next fine day a few of the cocks are broken 

 out at a time, and kept conftantly turned till fully dry. Three or four of them 

 are then put into one cock, the work proceeding in the fame manner till the whole 

 is done. And when the weather is bad thefe cocks are never re-broken out, being 



lightened up to let the air pafs through them more freely. 

 The ad vantages in the firft mode are fuppofed by fome to be, that from there- 

 * Corrcded Report of Middlefex^ i Modern Agriculture, vol. II. 



