rM^ 



rHE FA 11 ME US' REGISTER. 



Vol. V. 



SEPTEMBER 1, 1837. 



No. 5. 



EDMUND RUFFIN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR. 



From the Transactions of the Iliglilaud Society. 



ON AN IMPROVED MKTIIOI) OF MAKING CI.O- 

 VER-IIAY. 



Tile tiiiee following articlos arc from the last (June) 

 No. of t'le Transactions of the Highland and Agricultu- 

 ral Society of Scotland, and two of them were honored 

 by premiums conferred by the Society. The climate 

 of Scotland is as remarkable for being cool and moist, 

 as ours is for being hot and dry in summer; and there- 

 fore the details of the process of haymaking ought to 

 be generiilly very different. Still, it is interesting to 

 know what are deemed new and useful improvements 

 in other countries, and we may often profit by them, 

 notwithstanding the ditference of circumstances, pro- 

 vided, we always take care to keep that difference in 

 view; and without that care, we may often err, and 

 sUiTer loss, by following the example of our near- 

 est neighbors. Besides, however different the means 

 may be, the end sought in haymaking is the same 

 every where — and that is, to evaporate the mere water, 

 and preserve the rich portion of the juices of the grass 

 — and for these purposes it is desirable to have as much 

 exposure of the curing grass to air, as possible, and as 

 little exposure as possible to sun and wet. — Ed. Far. 

 Reg. 



[Hay-makiniT is perhaps the worst conducted ope- 

 ration in Scotti.sli husbandry, and the ohjecl of 

 the Society in oH'ering premiums (or essays on 

 the best method of niakini^ both clover and 

 meadow hay, is to urcre the genera! adoption of 

 a sujierior management in securmg the crop of 

 that valuable and nutritious winter provender. 

 It is to be hoped that the success attained by 

 the writers ot the following essays will prompt 

 other haymakers to adopt the practice described 

 by them. A premium of ten sovereigns was 

 awarded for this essay.] 



Jiy Mr. John Proudfoot, Inveresk. 



Tlie present practice of making hay in the 

 neighborhood where I reside, (and, I believe, it is 

 much the same throujiliout Scotland) is liable to 

 many objections. The chiefofthe.se are, first, 

 that of allowing the the grass to he "too ripe," 

 as it is generally called, belbre it is cut. Second, 

 allowing the grass to be on the ground till it be 

 either rotted with bad weather, drenched with 

 rain, or dried up by too long exposure to the sun. 



The method I have adopted lor the last three 

 years is very simple, but, in my opinion, a very 

 secure one tor our chan^-eable climate. It is as 

 follows: — This year (18.36) I commenced cuttinir 

 a field of grass of ten acies, on the first of July, 

 just when the flower was going off the rye-irra-ss, 

 which I conceive to be the true criterion for cut- 

 ting. This field was sown down with 12 lbs. of 

 the best Dutch red clover, and 1 lb. of white 

 ditto, with two and a half pecks of best Ayrshire 



Vol. V-33 



annual rye^-grass per imperial acre. It was a most 

 excellent crop, and, as quick as five men could 

 cut It down, women put it up close behind them 

 in the Ibllovving manner: — taking hold of the grass 

 by the top, and placing it neatly round the left 

 loot, keeping the loot steady in the heart of the 

 haudful, then tying a little band round the top, 

 to keep it steady in the upright conical pnsitiini, 

 and wlien the ti)ot is removed the aperture serves 

 lljr a ventilator. Thus, nearly all the surliice of 

 the grass is exposed to the air, and if the hollow 

 cones are neatly put up, they will be almost safe 

 from the weather, as, in case of rain, it runs off 

 as flist as it liills. 



If the weather is at all favorable, the conical- 

 handfuls will be ready, in twenty-four. hours, for 

 turrins out, and putting up into small cocks the 

 same diiy; but they ma}', with greater safety, be 

 allowed to remain in the first position until ready for 

 putting up into large cocks. I am of opinion that 

 the less turning clover-hay gets, the better, as the 

 ohener it is turned, its value is deteriorated, more 

 especially after getting rain. 



One-half of the field was turned out of the 

 handfuls. the other half allowed to remain until it 

 was ready for bf^inij put into cocks, and my man- 

 ner of making cocks is this: — A man stands at 

 the cock, to whom the women bring the handllils, 

 which he puts neatly up, always keeping the tops 

 of them to the centre of the cock, in a direction 

 sloping upwards fiom him, so as the slope may 

 throw off the rain. In thus carefully constructing 

 the cock, little vacuities will be left between the 

 handfuls to act as ventilators, the influence of 

 which will very soon render it proper to put the 

 hay into larger cocks. In one week I had all the 

 hay of the ten acres put into ricks of 130 or 140 

 I stones, in which state I conceived it to be proof 

 against any kind of weather,— indeed, were it 

 not that purch isers were expected to take it "off 

 the rick,''^ it might have been put into the stack. 

 I may mention, that the rain fell less or more al- 

 most every day, excepting on Sunday the third, 

 and Monday the fourth, but on the fifth there Avas 

 a severe thunder-storm, and, notwithstanding this 

 most anpropitioiis ivcather, I made nearly 4000 

 stones of hay in the finest condition, in one week 

 from the time it was cut ; and as to its quality, * t 

 think I am not too hold, when I say, that lam not 

 afraid to chalbngc the county of Edinburgh. 



The great advantage of this system over the 

 common one in a bad .reason is, that one hour's sun- 

 shine will have more effect in drying the hay than 

 a whole day. I have this year seen hay lying on 

 the ground for weeks together, and the affermath 

 (rrowing up through it, which is destructive both 

 to the hay and the second crop; but if the system 

 wlii(di I have described be followed out, I will ven- 

 ture to say that the hay will not only be infinitely 

 superior, but in the end will be put up at less ex- 



*Testimonial3 of the superior quality of the hay 

 were furnished to the Society by the author, from Sir 

 John Hope, of Pinkie, and William Aitchison, Esq. 

 younger of Drummore. — Ed. 



