HINTS ON HAYMAKING 133 



the succulent stems. Those who have had experience with 

 water-meadows are aware of the extreme hazard of carrying 

 hay from them too soon. An old and safe test of fitness is 

 to gather together a few of the stout stems and twist them 

 tightly into a rope. If moisture exudes, the grass is not 

 ready for the rick. Clover stems, Cow Grass especially, 

 contain a large amount of moisture, and if ricked too soon 

 there is a risk of the heat rising injuriously. The use of the 

 haymaking machine must be avoided entirely when clover 

 forms a large proportion of the crop. 



Dry and benty grass which does not contain much clover 

 will almost ' make itself in fine weather, and but little fear 

 need be entertained that it will fire. Indeed, if the rick does 

 not heat somewhat the hay will be of inferior quality. 



Ricks may occasionally be seen standing on the bare 

 ground where floods are not unknown. It is unwise to erect 

 them on such spots, for they absorb moisture almost as readily 

 as a sponge. Some injury will certainly ensue from the 

 damp ground, and the whole bulk of hay may be made 

 mouldy by a flood. The cost of stone or iron staddles will 

 often be repaid in a single year, and they render it safe to 

 put hay into a rick much earlier than where this means of 

 bottom ventilation is lacking. 



The best shape for a rick is square. A thin oblong form 

 exposes too large a surface to the atmosphere, and a very 

 high-pitched roof is objectionable on the same ground. The 

 bottom of the stack should be smaller than the eaves, so 

 that rain falling from the thatch will clear the sides of the 

 rick. In building, the centre should always be kept higher 

 than the outside, and every layer of grass must be firmly 

 trodden down. The roof must be steep enough to shoot off 

 rain and snow, but it injures the upper portion of the hay to 

 go higher than is necessary to secure this object. Roughly 

 stated, the top of the rick measured across under the eaves 

 should be about one and a half or two feet more than from 



