PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE. . 331 



lose more by drying their hay too much than by not 

 drying it enough." 



Another writes me as follows : " As far as my experi- 

 ence and observation extend, I think farmers dry their 

 hay too much, as a general thing. Grass should never 

 be dried any more than just enough to have it keep 

 well in the mow. I think it is best to get in hay as 

 green as it will possibly do, for it contains more juices, 

 which constitute its value." 



This is in accordance with the experience of another 

 farmer, who says : " Redtop is a more difficult grass to 

 make into hay than Timothy. To make hay from any 

 grass, it is highly important that the swaths of the hand- 

 scythe be well shaken ; here lies the secret of making 

 hay evenly, without having green, heavy locks. If the 

 burden is heavy, time in making the hay, if cut in the 

 morning, will be gained by turning it by one o'clock, P. 

 M., and then putting it into good-sized cocks while it is 

 warm. If the weather be clear, according to my expe- 

 rience, this hay will do to cart the second day without 

 giving it much attention, the sap has become can- 

 died, and it is fit for the mow. The exposing the hay to 

 the air on the second day, by pitching, is of essential 

 benefit. When carted the same day it is mown, unless 

 dead ripe, it will be withy, clammy, and will be likely to 

 smoke in the mow ; in which case the hay has lost 

 much of its valuable quality. 



" To keep it till the third day, and expose it to the 

 rays of the sun every day, as some practise, dries out 

 the juices, and the stem becomes hard and brittle, the 

 life of the hay is gone to some degree. Our mothers 

 and grandmothers used to dry herbs in the shade ; I 

 hold to curing hay in the cock." 



Another practical farmer in the same section says : 

 " My way of making Timothy and redtop is to mow it 



