114 PEEMANENT AND TEMPORAEY PASTUEES. 



by which wet enters and decay is hastened. Hence in continued 

 wet weather the cut grass should be allowed to He just as it is 

 left by the scythe or mower, and it will then take the minimum 

 of harm. In fine weather the tedding machine should be used 

 much more freely than is commonly the case, for every time the 

 machine goes over the ground a difierent set of grass stalks are 

 exposed to the sun. Often, when the end of a field is reached, 

 the beginning is ready for a fresh start, and it is a mistake to 

 suppose that becau.se scorched grass makes bad hay, therefore 

 quickly made hay resembles scorched grass. These remarks are 

 intended to apply exclusively to meadow hay. Clovers, Sainfoin, 

 &c., should be turned in the swath by hand, and with utmost 

 care, to avoid breaking ojGf the leaves. 



When a particular field is ready, the whole strength of the 

 farm should be concentrated on the labour of gathering and cart- 

 ing the hay to the rick. I have known a crop of grass cut 

 one morning and stacked at night ; but the crop was hght, the 

 heat unusual, and the desiccation of the plant had considerably 

 advanced before the mower was used. Still, I am persuaded 

 that in hot weather grass might often with advantage be put 

 into windrows or cocks on the day it is cut, although it is 

 seldom done. Dew is well-nigh as injurious to half-made hay 

 as rain, and grass which has parted with much of its water on 

 a hot summer day is in a condition to reabsorb moisture from 

 the atmosphere at night. This process goes on much more 

 rapidly when the hay hes scattered on the ground than when it 

 is cocked. The cocks should not be opened too early in the 

 morning, and if the sun prove hot it will spoU the colour to 

 scatter the grass very much. Greenness is one of the indications 

 of well-made hay, while a brown shade, whether resulting from 

 rain or sunburning, is a certain sign of deteriorated condition. 

 Three days ought to make good hay in fair weather from an 

 ordinary crop. Grass which is cut one day, tedded repeatedly 

 the next, cocked that night, and opened out again on the 

 following morning, may be fit to carry in the afternoon of that — 



