278 TRANSACTIONS OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 



"bly ri|ic in the middle of a hot day and baled immediately and piled up under 

 a shed or even in the open air, and ciyne out in mid-winter in better condi- 

 tion than most of the hay cured in the ordinary way. Such hay will lose 

 very little of its original weight. A great portion of the best hay grass in 

 this country is rendered by errors in curing of no more value than rye 

 straw. I hope to see experiments extensively made during the next sum- 

 mer to test the value of this new press for preserving hay in better condi- 

 tion than it is possible to keep it when thoroughly sun-dried and packed in 

 the barn. It is one of the greatest mistakes of haymakers to suppose that 

 grass can be injured by undergoing the sweating process when curing. It 

 has been my determined practice for years, to put up the grass from the 

 swath almost directly into large cocks, where it undergoes the sweating 

 process. An Irishman or an Englishman invariably cocks his hay about a 

 small forkfull in a bunch, because they were instructed to do so in the 

 moist climate of England. A great many American farmers are guilty of 

 the same folly. Som ; of them, I hope, will live long enough to learn that 

 sweet grass can be packed into a bale as solid as a bass-wood log, and that 

 it can be preserved in this way better than in any other. 



Mr. Smith, Lebanon, Ct. — I bale large quantities of hay for market every 

 year. I have sometimes put it up when it was so green that it turned 

 dark colored and iiijured the sale of it, as it is thought not to be so good 

 for horses. I am sure it is not injured for horned cattle. I believe Mr. 

 Kobinson is right in what he says about putting up hay green ajjd curing 

 it in the cock. If grass is not wet when it is put up, I have never found 

 any difficulty in curing'it. I also believe what he says about curing grass 

 in a mow, by placing it between alternate layers of dry straw or old hay. 

 I have put up rowen or aftermath in this way with old straw, when it was 

 only a little wilted in the field, and it kept perfectly §weet. 



The Flower Seed Distribution. 



The Secretary reported the supply of seeds insufficient to fill half the 

 orders now on hand. He announces the receipt of packages of seed, for dis- 

 tribution from the following persons: 



Mrs. C. J. Pennoyer, Sharon Station, Dutchess county, N. Y. " 



Eev. Samuel Griswold, Saybrook, Conn, 



Miss Susan Leonard, Buckfield, Mass. 



Hubbard & Davis, Detroit, Michigan. 



Jacob Hammond, Stillwater. 



Miss Susan G. Briggs, Crum Elbow, Dutchess county, N, Y. 

 [ Mrs. H. Messenger, Mooers, Clinton county, N. Y. 



I hope others who have flower seeds to spare will put them up in clo.«5e 

 packages of less than four ounces' weight, marked " seedk oul}'," and affix 

 a two cent stamp, directing the packages J. W. Chambers, American Insti- 

 tute, New York, and entrust them to Uncle Sam's mail. 



The Rev. Samuel Griswold, Saybrook, Conn., says tliat durWig several 

 years of ill-health he has devoted his attention to the cultivation of flowers, 

 and has annually distributed from 1,OUO to 1,800 papers of seeds. lie novr 

 forwards his whole stock to this Club for distribution, including the fol- 

 lowing: 



