26 SAVING HAY. 



drawing nutriment from the crop, and over-power- 

 ing it by its more early growth, at times so im- 

 poverishing the barley or the oats, as to render 

 them comparatively of little value. The upright 

 brome grass (bromus erectus) is a pest in our 

 grass lands, giving the semblance of a crop in a 

 most unproductive soil ; hard and wiry, it possesses 

 no virtue as food, and is useless as a grass : this 

 bromus inclines to the lime-stone, the lias, or clay- 

 stone, as if alumine was required, to effect some 

 essential purpose in its nature ; but this is a plant 

 not found universally. 



We have in use generally here a very prudential 

 method of saving our crops in bad and catching 

 seasons, by securing the hay in windcocks, and wheat 

 in pooks. As soon as a portion of our grass be- 

 comes sufficiently dry, we do not wait for the whole 

 crop being in the same state, but. collecting to- 

 gether about a good waggon load of it, we make 

 a large cock in the field, and as soon as a like 

 quantity is ready we stack that likewise, until 

 the whole field is successively finished, and on the 

 first fine day unite the whole in a mow. Some 

 farmers, in very precarious seasons, only cut enough 

 to make one of these cocks, and having secured 

 this, cut again for another. Should we be necessi- 

 tated, from the state of the weather, to let these 

 parcels remain long on the ground, or be a little 

 dilatory, which I believe we sometimes are, before 



