166 FARM MECHANICS 



the United States. It is an energetic kicker that scat- 

 ters the hay swaths and drops the hay loosely to 

 dry between showers. Hay may be made quickly 

 by starting the tedder an hour behind the mowing 

 machine. 



It is quite possible to cut timothy hay in the morn- 

 ing and put it in the mow in the afternoon, by shaking 

 it up thoroughly once or twice with the hay-tedder. 

 "When clover is mixed with the timothy, it is necessary 

 to leave it in the field until the next day, but the time 

 between cutting and mowing is shortened materially 

 by the use of the tedder. 



Grass cut for hay may be kicked apart in the field 

 early during the wilting process without shattering the 

 leaves. If left too long, then the hay-tedder is a dam- 

 age because it kicks the leaves loose from the stems and 

 the most valuable feeding material is wasted. But 

 it is a good implement if rightly used. In catchy 

 weather it often means the difference between bright, 

 valuable hay and black, musty stuff, that is hardly fit 

 to feed. 



Hay-tedders are expensive. "Where two farmers 

 neighbor together the expense may be shared, because 

 the tedder does its work in two or three hours' time. 

 Careful farmers do not cut down much grass at one 

 time. The tedder scatters two mowing swaths at once. 

 In fact the mowing machine, hay-tedder and horserake 

 should all fit together for team work so they will fol- 

 low each other without skips or unnecessary laps. The 

 dividing board of the mowing-machine marks a path 

 for one of the horses to follow and it is difficult to keep 

 him out of it. But two horses pulHng a hay-tedder will 

 straddle the open strip between the swaths when the 

 tedder is twice the width of the cut. 



