CHAPTER VIII 

 HAYING MACHINERY 



The introduction of modern haying machinery has 

 wrought almost the same change in the harvesting of the 

 hay crop as harvesting machinery has in the harvesting 

 of the small-grain crop. The labor involved under present 

 conditions in the cutting, curing, and storing of a ton 

 of hay is but a small fraction of what it was under the 

 old system of hand methods. 



The hay crop ranks third in value among our crops. 

 The addition of several new plants has greatly increased 

 the value of the hay crop. This is especially true of 

 alfalfa and brome grass, which have proved to be very 

 valuable hay crops. The practice of curing grass for 

 forage was in vogue before written history was begun. 

 The first tools were as crude as possible. To-day we have 

 a very complete line of hay tools for all conditions of 

 work. 



THE MOWER 



226. The mower. The development of the mower has been 

 traced by M. F. Miller in the "Evolution of Harvesting Machin- 

 ery,"* a bulletin published by the United States Department of 

 Agriculture, and we are pleased to quote as follows : 



"In the early development of the mower it was so intimately 

 connected with the reaper that a little space should here be 

 devoted to a short review of its history. Hussey's first machine 

 was really a mower, and it was upon this principle that the 

 mower was afterward built. Many of the early machines con- 



* Bulletin No. 103, Office of Experiment Stations. 



