94 



FARMERS' REGISTER— MANAGEMENT OF HAY. 



milled our horizon, and enabled us to make co- 

 lossal strides, whether in science, in g-overnment, 

 or in the arts. It is in fact nearly omnipotent — 

 and there is no good reason to doubt, wliy it should 

 not be as serviceable when made to stoop to the 

 retired cottage, to amuse end enlighten its humble 

 inmates, as when it ascends to more exalted re- 

 gions. 



In concluding this suggestion relative to agricul- 

 tural papers, I will only add, that " knoioledge is 

 poiver," and that it matters not whether we ac- 

 quire it by following the husliandman through his 

 fields, or from tlie columns of a paper. 



" What but mind, cnliglitened and expanded, 

 gives to civilized society the comforts and means 

 of happiness, which is nowhere found in a savage 

 life? And if the mind is beneficial to labor by its 

 skill and contrivance, the more it is instructed in 

 those laws, which nature has established for the 

 government of matter, and in the experience and 

 improvements of others, the more likely it is to 

 prove beneficial to our physical powers." 



A BUCKINGHAM FARMER. 



June 8th, 1833. 



On the JWassageiueiit of Miuj, 



From the (Edinburgh) I^armei's Magazine. 



To the Conductors of the Formers'' Magazine. 



Ge]vtle»ien, — If you think the following ob- 

 servations on the management of Hay deserving 

 of notice, they may be inserted in your next num- 

 ber. 



The treatment of Hay is a subject of high im- 

 portance to the agricultural interest of Britain, 

 not only as a valuable article of produce, but as 

 constituting a bulky and essential part of the food 

 of our domestic animals, upon which their health 

 and usefulness in a great measure depend. 



Where such a valuable interest is at stake, we 

 might naturally expect to sec experiments made, 

 and a suitable degree of attention paid, to form a 

 regular system of management. It is much to be re- 

 gretted, that in many parts of the island, no such 

 attention has been paid ; and the treatment, espe- 

 cially in many parts of North Britain, is slovenly 

 in the extreme, and very ill calculated to secure 

 and preserve, in the highest degree of perfection, 

 that flavor, and those nourishing qualities, without 

 ■which, neither hay, nor indeed any description of 

 herbage, can be valuable. 



The first consideration in llie treatment of hay, 

 is, the period at which it should be cut, and the 

 weather most proper for that operation. The time 

 most proper for cutting the different kinds of grain, 

 together with every step of tlie after-management, 

 are points Avell understood, and for the most part 

 strictly observed ; every farmer being sensible, 

 that any neglect of, or deviation from these rules, 

 will, by impairing the quality both of the grain 

 and straw, be productive of mucli trouble and loss 

 to himself. It is somewhat surprising, that the 

 same kind of reasoning should not have been ap- 

 plied to the management of hay; as any diminu- 

 tion of its value, arising from improper treatment, 

 must be equally prejudicial both to tlie grower and 

 consumer of that article, as to the grower and con- 

 sumer of grain. 



The practice of many farmers in North Britain 

 is, to allow their hay, not only to attain its ulti- 

 mate groAvthj but even to make some progress to- 



wai-ds decay, before it is cut : to obtain a bulky 

 crop, being their chief olyect, every other con- 

 sideration is disregarded ; and neither the period 

 of growth at which the cutting ought to com- 

 mence, the weather most proper for that operation, 

 nor indeed any step of the ailer-management, are 

 regulated by lirst rules. In place of cutting the 

 crop during dry weather, and when it is free from 

 every other but its own natural moisture, it is 

 very often cut in a wet state, and on that account 

 must remain in the swath a considerable time be- 

 fore it is fit for being put into cocks, during which 

 it requires to be frequently turned and exposed to 

 tlie sun and atmosphere, for the purposeof drying- 

 it : in that way, a considerable proportion of its 

 natural juices are dissipated; and by the time it is 

 dry cnougii for putting into the stack, it has lost 

 not only its flavor, but a great part of its most 

 valuable properties; an evil that is farther in- 

 creased, if much rain happen to fall either imme- 

 diately after the cutting, or at any period before it 

 is put into cocks. In that case, a still greater loss 

 of its nourishing properties, and a consequent di- 

 minution of its value, must happen. 



The consequences of this management are felt 

 in a variety of shapes, in every district where it 

 prevails. In the lower districts, the mischief is 

 comparatively small, owing to the mildness of the 

 winters, the great quantity of rich foggage every 

 where to be met with, and the abundance of corn 

 straw, and other wholesome articles of food, Avitli 

 which these parts abound. In the hilly and upland 

 districts, however, the case is very different; and 

 the loss arising from the neglect and mismanage- 

 ment of their hay is great, almost beyond calcula- 

 tion. In these elevated regions, the winters are, 

 lor the most part, of uncommon length and se- 

 verity ; little straw is produced; sown grasses, 

 turnips, and potatoes, are equally scarce. In that 

 way, the chief dependence of the farmer, for win- 

 ter food to his stock, falls upon the hay, which, 

 when the quality is bad, and other articles scarce, 

 induces debility and disease to such a degree, that 

 a great part of the stock either die, or are reduced 

 to a state of extreme weakness during the winter; 

 and when the spring arrives, the green food has 

 such an effect upon the bowels of those who have 

 survived, that many of them die also. 



The greatest part of the hay grown in these 

 parts, is the produce of the wet swampy grounds, 

 and the plants of which it consists, are of a nature 

 that requires much judgment and attention to 

 cure, in such a manner as to unite every advan- 

 tage that might be expected from their use. When 

 cut at a certain period of their growth, there is 

 perhaps no species of herbage sweeter, or more 

 tender, or that contains more nourishing juices, or 

 is more palatable to the animals fed with it, than 

 meadow hay. It has already been observed, that, 

 under the present system of management, the pe- 

 riod most proper for cutting hay, is less an object 

 of attention than it ought to be. Experience 

 proves, that the greatest perfection of the herbage 

 is met with, either immediately before it comes 

 into flower, or as soon as the first flowers blow. At 

 that period, it is in no shape exhausted, either by 

 blowing a multitude of flowers, or forming seeds, 

 anil contains all the useful qualities of which its 

 nature is capable: after that period, it daily di- 

 minishes in value, becomes tough, sapless, and 

 unpalatable, and is not chewed Avithout considera- 



