THE COW PEA. 27 



throwing the vines in small piles. If the ground is dry and 

 the weather clear, I put the piles into medium sized shocks 

 on the following day, handling carefully with the fork, to 

 avoid shattering peas and leaves. In two or three days, if 

 the weather is favorable, the shocks are ready to be housed 

 or to put into stacks. Not having house room, I stack and 

 top off with wheat straw. The peas are gotten out as the 

 hay is needed in the winter." 



The two dangers to be guarded against in saving the 

 hay are over-drying, so that the leaves become brittle, drop 

 off and waste, and failure-to-dry so that the thick, succulent 

 stems retain sufficient moisture to cause mould and decay. 

 The former danger may practically be escaped by cutting 

 before the plants become ripe ; the latter, by leaving the 

 hay in cocks until it is so dry that no moisture can be 

 twisted from the larger stems. 



Some growers provide for curing the hay by erecting 

 sheds with tiers of poles, somewhat resembling tobacco 

 barns. The wilted vines are placed in layers on these poles 

 to give free access of air above and below each layer to 

 cause gradual evaporation of juice and moisture and per- 

 fect curing. This method makes hay of the very finest 

 quality, but is too slow and expensive to be practiced on a 

 large scale. 



It is not safe to bale the hay directly from the field. 

 Even when it appears perfectly dry, it may still contain 

 sufficient moisture to cause heating and moulding if packed 

 at once. The only safe plan is to put it for a few weeks 



