MANAGEMENT OF MEADOWS. 281 



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four hours in advance, and can give a very good idea of it 

 for two or three days beforehaud. In every daily postoffice 

 in the United States a bulletin is posted, every morning, 

 of these facts, so that it will not be difficult for those not 

 seeing a paper, to become informed, through one or the oth- 

 er methods, and most farmers now base their time of harvest- 

 ing on these predictions. The absolute necessity of getting 

 a favorable time for this important work, will render the 

 trouble and expense in procuring the necessary information, 

 of small moment. The crop of the entire year, the health 

 and comfort of all the stock on the place, depend upon the 

 hay being properly saved, and a mistake or error on this 

 point will entail a serious loss, one that will cost far more 

 than the subscription to a good paper to say nothing of the 

 useful information, to be derived from it besides. 



The foregoing remarks apply to the true grasses only. 

 With clovers and the leguminous plants it is different. 

 Several plans will be detailed, each good, and the reader 

 can then make his own selection. 



Cut clover when the dew is off, let it wilt, and rake it into 

 wind-rows. Allow it to remain in this state until the dew is 

 off the next morning, and begin at once to haul and place in 

 the barfl, sprinkling salt in small quantities over every layer 

 In this way the entire crop will be exposed only about 24 

 hours, which is amply sufficient for it. It will heat and go 

 through a heavy sweat, but this will not injure it, and it will 

 look as fresh and almost as green when cured, as when 

 standing. The salt is essential to its proper preservation. 



Another plan is to begin the formation of cocks on the 

 evening of the first cutting, putting in all that was cut in 

 the morning, and the next morning cocking what was cut 

 the previous evening, thus giving each cutting twelve hours 

 of sun. These grasses cannot take more sun than this with- 

 out becoming so dry they will lose their leaves and blossoms 

 A great risk is run by cocking clover unless the farmer is 

 provided with cloth caps, as, from the crooked, tortuous 



