CHAPTER VII. 
HAYMAKING. 
SAHIS industry is conducted in such a variety of 
circumstances and conditions, and the common 
methods of haymaking are so generally known, 
that it seems superfluous for us to discuss it; but 
were we not to do so, our work would be like a chain, a link 
of which was missing. 
The most important point to be observed is to fix upon the 
right time for the cutting of the crop. ‘There is no fixed rule 
for this, everything depending on the judgment and experience 
of the haymaker. 
As will have been gathered from our previous notes, some 
grasses make the best hay when nearly ready to shed their 
seeds, but the majority are best about, or sometime after, 
flowering time, and, as in permanent pastures, flowering 
commences early in May, continuing until August, even later, 
the difficulty of calculating the exact value of the many 
varieties and hitting upon a medium for cutting is apparent. 
If any doubts exist in the mind, it is far better to err on the 
‘side of cutting too soon rather than too late. It may be true 
that the early-cut grass wastes more than grass cut later, but 
the quality of the hay is better, and the second crop will 
be stronger; also, in a late cutting the early grass will be 
greatly weakened by seeding, and if the pastures be cut year 
