68 LUCERNE CULTURE. 



Granted that you have a water supply, I would advocate sew- 

 ing in the latter part of the winter, when the moisture in the 

 ground from the two waterings should keep the plants going until 

 such time as the spring rains are due. The weeds are of course 

 worse than in the autumn, but this need not tether anyone ; the 

 main thing is to get the lucerne up well, the weeds can be kept 

 down by running the mower over the field whenever they threaten 

 to choke the lucerne, which will eventually oust the weeds alto- 

 gether. 



A young field should be carefully treated, grazing it very 

 sparingly until it is well and strongly rooted. Many a good field 

 has been ruined by running stock on it too freely during its first 

 season. It is better to run 100 ostriches on a field for a week than 

 to put 50 on it for a fortnight. Remember that it is a crop not 

 living for just one season or two, so that it is worth while giving 

 it the best treatment. 



The best time to mow the crop is just when the blossom buds 

 are full and odd flowers showing here and there in the field. As 

 a general rule what you mow down to-day would be fit to rake 

 to-morrow and put into cocks the next day, the thickness of the 

 crop and weather being taken into consideration. When raked the 

 stuff should be tough to the feel and before the leaf makes any 

 outcry in the hand. 



The hay cocks should be well put up and combed out nicely 

 so as to allow the water to run off in case of rain, and not made too 

 small. Allow these to stand about four days on the land before 

 riding into shed or stack, leaving it there four weeks before baling. 

 Stacks should be at once thatched with grass, which will keep the 

 lucerne nice and bright. The long sweet grass, of which we had 

 such a quantity last year, makes excellent thatching material. 



Hay-making under normal conditions is a fairly easy matter, 

 but it is when you have blistering hot days, 1 and again at others 

 frequent thunderstorms and muggy weather following, it is then 

 that it is all one knows to turn out good, sweet hay. If the stuff is 

 too damp to put up in the early morning, a good plan is to gather 

 it together making it more convenient to pack up quickly when 

 sufficiently dry. 



A good test in deciding as to whether stuff is fit to cock or not 

 is to feel the weight of the hay on your pitchfork. This will indi- 

 cate to you if fit or not almost better than the feel of it to the hand. 



In packing cocks on to wet ground they can with advantage be 

 shifted on to another spot after say two days, which will give them 

 a chance to dry out. This is quickly done with three or four men 

 shifting each in turn by putting the forks underneath and lifting 

 them bodily to another spot. It is surprising how very wet the 

 ground becomes under the cocks when perhaps it looked dry 

 enough when they were put up. It is better to put up hay into 

 cocks if rain is threatening even if not quite fit. and then open 



