\\ HEAT i I I II RE. L' v "; 



Laid crops can only be dealt with by cutting them in the opposite direc- 

 tion to which they are lying. This entails working the binder only one 

 way. When the crop is tangled ;is well as laid, considerable patience and 

 judgment are required to make the most of it. All th.it can be done is to 

 drive the binder with care, seizing every opportunity to drive it against the 

 direction of the majority of the laid plants 



Curing the Hay Crop. 



Am it cutting at the right time, to secure the maximum food-value the 

 plant is capable of producing, it is essential that it be dried, and so pre- 

 served with as little loss as possible of this food-value. Loss takes place 

 is the result of rain washing out the sugar and other soluble food ingredi- 

 ents, and as the result of the heat and sun drying off the essential oils and 

 other volatile compounds. To minimise these losses by protecting the 

 sheaves from the action of the sun and rain, a considerable number are 

 placed together in a stook. 



The sheaves should be stooked without delay after they have been cut 

 with the binder. The machine may be allowed to cut a couple of swaths, 

 and then sufficient men should be employed stooking to keep up with the 

 machine. 



In a light crop, one man can stook the sheaves as fast as the binder can 

 cut them, but in a 2-ton crop two men are not sufficient to keep pace with it. 



The sheaves in long, open stooks dry more rapidly than in round ones, 

 but in the former, more of the crop is exposed to the bleaching action of 

 the sun. Long, open stooks are therefore suitable for moist districts, 

 whilst the practice of making large, round stooks is adapted for the dry 

 ones. 



Stooking and Stacking. 



Sheaves are allowed to remain in stooks until the hay is so dry that when 

 placed in the stack it will not heat or mould. This stage is determined by 

 drawing a handful of straws from the middle of the stook and examining 

 the knots or joints in the straws. If these are dry the material can be 

 stacked without danger. 



In hot, dry districts like the west, the hay dries out sufficiently in fourteen 

 to twenty days in October. Later in the season it will be ready sooner. It 

 requires to be watched by the farmer, however, as the stage at which it is 

 carted in will influence the quality of the produce a good deal. If an 

 examination of the upper joints of the stem shows that these joints have 

 shrunk, it may be taken that the hay is dry enough to stack. Until that 

 shrinkage is apparent the hay will be apt to sweat if stacked, but once the 

 contraction of the upper joints can be seen, the crop shoul dbe got in as 

 quickly as possible, as otherwise it gets hard and is then more difficult to 

 make up into good chaff. 



Admittedly very fair chaff can be made from poor hay, much then de- 

 pending on the manner in which the chaffing is done, but the farmer who 

 aspires to " topping the market," or who wishes to get full value for his- 

 crop, will regard all the foregoing points as important, and will take care 

 that every one of them receives due attention. 



