28 NEW HAMPSHIRE AGRICULTURE. 



dred and twenty-five varieties mentioned by the late Secretary 

 Flint, a dozen or so comprise all which need concern us. 



2. The varieties should be suited to the soil upon which they 

 are expected to grow. While witch grass grows almost any- 

 where, it avoids the rich, wet soils in which foul meadow de- 

 lights. Herds grass prefers a moist, fertile loam. Red top 

 grasses do not flourish on dry soils. Each variety has its pref- 

 erence which, as far as possible, should be met. 



3. Our grass lands should be manured and reseeded as often 

 as need be, if we seek maximum crops at minimum cost. 



The present haying equipment on the First Minister's Farm 

 consists of four horses, one yoke of oxen, two mowing ma- 

 chines, one cutting a swath of four feet and a half and the other 

 of six, three horse rakes, one tedder, four carts and men sufficient 

 in number for the employment of these, each furnished with a 

 scythe and a pitchfork. 



In haying, work begins in the morning, at six o'clock, sharp, 

 and ends at the same hour in the evening. A light luncheon 

 is served in the field at nine, and coffee as wanted in the after- 

 noon. The grass is cut in the forenoon, mostly by a machine, 

 the men using their scythes only when out of other work. It is 

 raked in the afternoon when warm and put into cocks. None is 

 allowed to lay over night in windrows. The heaps are opened 

 the next morning and after an hour's exposure to sun and air, 

 are tedded, if requiring it. When particularly heavy, fresh 

 mown grass is also tedded or turned over by forks. 



Carting begins immediately after dinner by two teams and is 

 continued until all hay fit for the barn has been drawn in. In 

 particularly favorable weather, a load or two may be housed 

 before dinner. All the loads are pitched off immediately after 

 being drawn in, except the last four, which are usually left on 

 the carts over night, to be unloaded in the cool of the next 

 morning. This arrangement gives a little time to determine as to 

 the weather which is often very uncertain at so early an hour. 

 With this force of men, teams, and implements, and continued 

 good weather, an average of ten or twelve tons of hay may be 

 daily cut, made, and stored. 



The average cost, one year with another, of cutting, curing, 

 and storing hay on the Farm of the First Minister, is about 



