MEADOWS AND MAKING HAY. 421 



crease in bleacliing; to protect it, as much as possible, 

 from rain and dews, which take from it aroma and cer- 

 tain other properties, in proportion, as these are pres- 

 ent; and to cure it to the greatest extent practicable 

 through the agency of air and wind, as such curing 

 favors the retention of the natural color. Hay that is 

 over sun-cured, not only loses in palatability and in 

 many instances many of the leaves, but it loses unduly in 

 weight. Hay, exposed to excessive rains, esj^ecially 

 when from leguminous plants, soon becomes practically 

 valueless for food. On the other hand, hay properly 

 cured chiefly through the agency of air and wind pre- 

 serves the green color, the aroma, the palatability, the 

 weight and the nutrition to the greatest extent to which 

 it is possible to secure these. 



From what has been said, it will be apparent that to 

 secure these results in the most perfect form, hay must 

 be cured to the greatest extent possible, in cocks rather 

 than while spread over the ground exposed to sunshine ; 

 or in winrows where much more of the surface is ex- 

 posed than in cocks. There is also the additional haz- 

 ard, that if rain falls while the hay is in winrows, the 

 loss from such exposure is usually much greater than 

 when it is in cocks ; the relative loss from clovers and 

 other legumes being thus exposed is greater than the 

 loss from the grasses proper. The more nearly cured 

 the hay is, when exposed to rain or dew, the greater the 

 relative injury that comes to it from such exposure. 

 When mixed grains are rained on, while they lie upon 

 the ground, where the mower left them, the further in- 

 jury follows that they are more or less covered with 



