7 6 STATISTICAL SURVEY 



main fo long before they cut it ; it is this ; about the 

 beginning or latter end of April, their ftock has con- 

 fumed the whole of the fodder, the meadows are 

 therefore kept open and grazed, until near the begin- 

 ning of June, a bad practice ; confequently were the 

 farmer to cut the hay, earlier than the latter end of 

 Auguft, or beginning of September, the crop would 

 be very fcanty, thefe months being reckoned for the 

 growth of grafs. Remedy Let the farmer propor- 

 tion his ftock to the quantity of fodder he may have, 

 which I believe is very fcldom the cafe. 



When I firft faw this method of hay-making prac- 

 tifed in this county, I muft confefs, I thought it moft 

 abfurd, trifling, and tedious ; but I was foon convinced 

 to the contrary, from a little experience and local 

 knowledge. 



The firft thing to be done, after the hay is mown, is 

 to go over the fwarth, and collect any weeds that may 

 be, which at that time is eafily done. In low-land mea- 

 dows, rufhes and fprit are generally the articles moft 

 injurious to hay , and, as thefe are always longer than 

 the grafs, they projcft fomewhat beyond the bulk of the 

 iwarth, and may be readily felefted from it. Both rufti- 

 es and fprit make good thatch, and as that article is al- 

 ways fcarcc, great pains are taken to collect them for 

 that purpofe. But when rufhcs and fprit are not over 

 abundant, the farmers are not anxious to collect them, 

 "but let them mix with the general mafs j fome benefit 



accrue* 



