HAYMAKIXG. 14? 



to manure it well. Rolling, immediately after the seed 

 is sown, has many advantages. Upland meadows should 

 have a dressing of good dung, or compost, every two or 

 three years : Every year would be better. A bush har- 

 row should be drawn over the surface, which will break 

 the small lumps remaining in the manure, and bring it 

 closer to the roots of the grass. When the sward binds 

 too much, break it up and till the ground ; or scarify and 

 apply manures. The binding is generally occassoned 

 by too close feeding. 



Meadows may be pastured moderately in the fall, but 

 not closely. A part of the after growth should be left 

 to cover the roots during winter. They should never 

 be fed in the spring ; the feet of the cattle at that time 

 do great injury. By this bad management, too, all the 

 best grasses are eaten out, and destroyed by the feet of 

 the cattle ; and wild grasses usurp their places. Mea- 

 dows which are entirely of wild grass, are much less lia- 

 ble to be injured, by close feeding than others. 



Where a meadow is quite wild, it should be mowed 

 rather before the grass has attained its full size, and in 

 this way it may yield a tolerably good second crop. By 

 early mov/ir^g, the grass may be out of the way before the 

 heavy rains which often fall in Juh^ 



Grass lands, under the above management, would pro- 

 duce larger crops. The surface would be covered in 

 the spring with a fine verdure. The crops would cover 

 the ground so soon as to prevent most of the ill eifects 

 of drought ; the thickness of its growth, causing it to 

 retain most of the moisture that fails in dews and rains. 



HAYMAKING. 



In cutting grass crops, it is necessary that they be in 

 the most suitable state of growth and maturity, for af- 

 fording the best and most nulricious fodder. With this 

 view, they should neither be cut at too early a period, 

 nor suffered to stand too long ; as in the former case 

 there will be considerable loss in the drying from the 

 produce being in so soft and green a condition, and in 

 the latter from a large proportion of the nourishing pro- 

 perties being expended. It is probable, therefore, that 

 grass, in general when mown before it is in full flower, 

 while the rich saccharine juice is in part retained, is in 



