30 FARM MANAGEMENT 



3^ bushels per acre are sown and about 1 5 tons 

 is the yield. 



Haymaking. — All the forage crops may 

 be made into hay, but the great bulk of the 

 hay made on the farm is from the permanent 

 meadows, which are cut in June as a rule, and 

 later in the summer a second cutting, called the 

 aftermath, may be taken. The hay is cut, the 

 swathes turned and tedded to let the sun dry 

 them on both sides, then raked into windrows, 

 and finally into cocks. As soon as dry, the 

 hay is carted and stacked. If stacked at all 

 damp it will heat, and may take fire, in which 

 case a slice should be cut out of the centre 

 to admit air. Cutting out a slice in this way, 

 and so dividing the stack into two, is more 

 effective than merely cutting a hole from the 

 centre downwards, which is the common 

 practice. 



Silage. — When wet weather makes it im- 

 possible to cart any forage crop, then it may be 

 stacked in the wet state to form silage ; heavy 

 weights must be placed on top of the stack to 

 prevent air from gaining admission to the mass 

 and causing it to rot. The silage may be cut 

 and fed to the stock during the winter, but 



