26 THE COW t>EA. 



the cut vines is well wilted, the field is run over with a ted- 

 der to turn the vines over and expose them more thor- 

 oughly to the air and sun. When the crop is very heavy 

 the tedder is used the second time, though this is seldom 

 necessary. Vines which have been cut in the morning 

 and teddered in the afternoon, may usually be put into 

 small cocks the next afternoon, and, if the weather prom- 

 ises to be favorable, left to remain in the cocks two or three 

 days before they are hauled to the barn. If it should rain 

 before the vines are put in cocks, they are not touched 

 until the surface is well dried off, and then teddered as 

 though freshly cut. Those in cocks are not opened until 

 well dried on the outside and are then only handled enough 

 to secure a thorough airing. A light rain does little dam- 

 age to the hay, even after the curing has begun, if handled 

 promptly and properly, and a heavy rain for a day or two 

 may fall on freshly cut vines and do little or no damage. 

 The essential point in making hay is to do the work as rap- 

 idly as possible, and to avoid any handling of the vines 

 when wet with either dew or rain. We find that it pays 

 well to use a tedder for stirring up the freshly cut vines so 

 as to admit sun and air freely, though if a tedder cannot be 

 had, the work can be done nearly as well, though more 

 slowly, by using a fork." 



Mr. C. B Matthews, of Virginia, after growing the crop 

 for more than thirty years, says : 



"I cut with a rake reaper, beginning in the morning 

 after the dew is off and continuing to cut until 3 P. M. 



