44 CONTIxNUOUS CROPPING 



If at this stage it rains, the lap cocks are soaked 

 through, and on the approach of dry weather are 

 again spread out (of course by hand) and when they 

 are dry are thrown together again. If the farmer is 

 lucky from a weather standpoint, the lap cocks are next 

 swept together and put into larger cocks or wynds, 

 roughly pyramidical in shape, and containing from 

 5 to 10 cwt. 



In this stage they are allowed to stand generally for 

 a month or two, when they are finally carted home. 



A more troublesome method of haysaving could 

 not be devised. Now, all this trouble is gone to with 

 the sole object of preventing the hay from heating in 

 the stack. 



As the best farmers, both scientific and practical, 

 know, a certain amount of heating is necessary for the 

 making of good hay. It is when one comes to ask for 

 specific information as to the right amount of heat 

 that one meets the " stone wall." The ''water jump" 

 is reached when information is sought as to how to 

 prevent overheating, or how to induce heat. A con- 

 siderable amount of space has been spent on this 

 matter, but it is all important with regard to the saving 

 of ordinary hay, and particularly the saving of tare hay. 



The writer has received a good deal of credit for 

 having realised the economic value of tare hay. In 

 this connection little credit is due. It has long been 

 knowTi that such fodder is highly nutritious. The 

 trouble of saving the crop was the main reason why it 

 was not previously grown on a larger scale. This 

 trouble was due to (i) the sowing of unsuitable 

 tare mixtures for haymaking purposes, and (2) the 

 non-recognition of the utility of modern machinery 

 for the purpose. Perhaps the lack of more precise 

 knowledge of the principles underlying haymaking also 

 played a part in the neglect. 



