HAYMAKING. 149 



public some years asfo by a French philosopher, that 

 the web of the common spider is a sure index of the 

 state of the air for twelve or fourteen days to come. 

 If the weather is to be fair and calm, the principal 

 thread will be spun to a great length ; if on the con- 

 trary the weather is to be stormy and boisterous, the 

 thread will be short and thick, for obvious reasons; and 

 if the spider is seen to repair the damages its slender 

 thread may happen to sustain, you may calculate with 

 certainty upon pleasant weather lor many days. 



In converting cut grass into hay, the great art consists 

 in rendering it sufficiently dry to prevent its heating too 

 much in the stack or mow, and at the same time pre- 

 serving as great a portion of the natural juices of the 

 plants as the process is capable of admitting of without 

 danger. 



If the weather is so unfavourable, that hay cannot be 

 thoroughly cured ; the application of from four to eight 

 quarts of salt to the ton is recommended. In this way 

 it can be saved in a much greener state, and the benefit 

 the hay derives from the salt is more than four fold its 

 value. Ground mows are more liable to take damage by 

 moisture, than those upon scaffolds. The larger the 

 mow, the drier the hay should be. To prevent hay 

 from damaging in a large mow, some recommend bar- 

 rels or stuffed sacks to be placed near the centre, and 

 gradually raised as the mow is raised: These form open- 

 ings in the middle, through which the steam of the heated 

 hay can pass off, and thereby prevent it from being mow 

 burnt. Another method is, to put the driest hay in the 

 centre, and the wetest nearest the outsides. Some 

 choose that a barn should have large gaps between the 

 boards that the ha}, &c, may have air. This is a mista- 

 ken notion ; for the hay that is nearest to the gaps will 

 lose its sweetness. 



Stacking hay in meadows, to be fed out there, is a 

 poor plan ; as the meadows are in this way often much 

 injured by the treading of the cattle ; and, when this 

 is not the case, much hay is generally wasted, and the 

 dung of the cattle turns to little or no account. If the 

 farmer has not sufficient room to house ail his hay, he 

 ought to stack it adjoining his barn, and then it can be 

 easily thrown in at once, when his barn is emptied. 

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