Proceedings of tue Farmers' Club. 423 



bread does to us. Cattle will eat sueli inferior hay rather than 

 starve. And so people will subsist on scorched and dried-up bread. 

 But do they eat it with a relish ? The substances in the newly mown 

 grass are in a semi-fluid and plastic condition. The object in making 

 hay is to dry these substances just enough to prevent their spoiling 

 in the mow, and at the same time retain a kind of elasticity. When 

 the stems and leaves of grass will break and crumble to atoms, the 

 evidence is conclusive that the hay has been sunned too much. When 

 grass is spread out in the burning sun, as soon as the stems and leaves 

 on the surfiice have become wilted, the tedder and the forks should 

 be put in motion, and the newly mown hay should be tossed about 

 continually until every leaf and stem is iit to be raked. By stirring 

 and turning and tedding, other stems and leaves are brought to the 

 surface, where they receive the benefit of the heat of the sun. Besides 

 this, grass will cure in the air much sooner than when lying on the 

 ground. Could machinery be devised for keeping grass whirling and 

 flying about in the air, the hay would be ready for the barn much 

 sooner than if allowed to lie until the stems and leaves on the surface 

 are as dry as burnt pie-crust. 



When we deposit new wheat, Indian corn, or grain of any kind in 

 the granary, why are we always so careful to have every kernel suf- 

 ficiently dry to prevent heating? When dried apj^les are packed in 

 a hogshead, why is it essential that every piece sho.uld be dry before 

 they are packed ? When we gather mint, sage, and elderberries, 

 why are we always so careful in drying such things, to avoid any 

 spontaneous heat ? Simply because spontaneous heat, after the mois- 

 ture has been expelled, will leave a musty taste and a moldy appear- 

 ance. We say, and truthfully too, that by heating and SM-eating in 

 a body, such substances are injured in proportion to the degree of 

 heat. But, strange to say, many intelligent farmers will insist that 

 it is a good way to cure grass by putting it into a tight barn, tread it 

 down tight in the mow, and let the redundant moisture be expelled 

 by spontaneous heat. It injures hay just as much to heat and sweat 

 in the mow or stack, as it does grain to heat in the bin. I know this, 

 is so, and I can convince any intelligent person that I am correct, 

 and that the process of heating and sweating is ver}' injurious to the 

 hay. In order to test this opinion, let a load of green grass be spread 

 around in a barn, say two feet thick, without being ])ressed down. 

 Occasionally let it be turned over, until every part is thoroughly dry. 

 Then let this hay be compared with other mow-burnt, musty, dusty,. 



