7 8 STATISTICAL SURVEY 



flicks, as is the cafe in the great hay countries in moft 

 parts of the kingdom. Sometimes the fwarth is fuf- 

 fercd to remain for a day, before it be broke out, and 

 fomc let it remain longer ; but fuch, as underftand this 

 bufincfs perfectly, break out the fwarth immediately 

 after the mowers, be the feafon dry or wet, unlefs the 

 latter prevails too much, in which cafe the mowers 

 are, of courfe, flopped. 



In good weather, grafs, cut in the morning, is made 

 into lap-cocks in the afternoon, unlefs it be very heavy 

 forced grafs, in which cafe more time muft be allowed, 

 and frequent turnings. The feafon always determines 

 the fize of the cocks ; in good weather, they may be 

 about eighteen inches in the bafe diameter, but con- 

 fiderably lefs in broken weather. When the weather 

 is very much broken and unfettled, which is, indeed, 

 often the cafe, the cocks are made hollow, fo as to re- 

 ferable a lady's muff, which figure has the power of 

 turning the rain, befides admitting a thorough paffage 

 for the air. 



If the weather be favourable, the hay will be fit, in 

 a few days, to make up into large cocks, generally 

 about half a ton. It rarely happens, however, that 

 hay can be got up thus fuddenly, as the feafon for 

 mowing natural meadows feldom takes place before 

 the middle of Auguft, and, too frequently, not till the 

 firft of September, when, moft commonly, the autum- 

 nal rains greatly retard this bufincfs ; in this cafe, the 



little 



