MAKING HAY 



MAKING or curing hay is an important step which requires a knowl- 

 edge of the plant and good management. Too often, after the crop 

 is grown, a large per cent is damaged because of rains, heavy dews, by 

 being exposed for a long time to the heat of the sun or to mismanage- 

 ment in gathering. Rains and dews are especially detrimental to 

 legumes. After alfalfa or clover has been wet, even slightly, the hay 

 is very much like tea leaves after they have been steeped. Mild rains 

 and heavy dews do not affect timothy and other grasses as much as 

 the legumes. Hay exposed to a broiling sun for a day or more not 

 only loses its appetizing flavor, but many of the leaves, on account of 

 their being dried rapidly, break off and are wasted. A hot sun will dry 

 and crinkle the leaves preventing the escape of moisture from the 

 stems which should take place through the leaves. Moisture thus 

 retained in the stems when placed in the stack or mow, will mould. Hay 

 should be cured and not sun-burned. In order to cure hay, it should 

 not only be subjected to a reasonable amount of heat, but to the action 

 of the air. 



The old plan of curing hay was a very good one, but it entailed losses 

 and unnecessary expense. After cutting the hay would lie in the swath 

 until it was dry. It was then raked into windrows and subsequently 

 made into cocks where it would remain until cured. The modern plan 

 and the one which is regarded as best among our most extensive hay 

 makers, is to mow the grass and let it remain until it is thoroughly 

 wilted, but not dry. If the crop is extremely heavy, a tedder should 

 be used for the purpose of stirring it up and airing it thoroughly. 

 Before the leaves are dried, it should be raked into windrows with a 

 side-delivery rake. The side delivery rake is far preferable to the 

 other type. The direct rake does not ventilate the hay, but rather 

 packs it together and leaves it in a compact bunch or solid windrow. 

 The side delivery rake forms a roll or cylinder through which the air 

 circulates freely, thereby curing the hay very rapidly. 



It has been fully demonstrated that the stems of hay raked with the 

 side delivery rake, on account of the perfect ventilation it receives in 

 the windrows, contain fifty per cent less moisture after a certain period 

 than hay formed in a windrow with the direct rake. It has also been 

 fully demonstrated that when the hay has been thoroughly aired both 

 with the tedder and with the side delivery rake, it is in better con- 

 dition to go into the stack or mow than when raked with a direct rake 

 after it is apparently dry in the swath and subsequently placed in the 

 cock for a period of two days. 



After the hay has been placed in the cylindrical windrow it is, if 

 the weather is good hay weather, about ready to be placed in the stack. 



