2 



Haymaking. 



long bar works perfectly well, while, of course, it gets over 

 the ground much more quickly. To assist the low cutting of 

 the grass and its removal from the knife-bar, a self-driven 

 reel is now attached to the mower — this arrangement being 

 a great help where the crop is tangled or leaning away from 

 the machine. 



It may be objected that a five or six foot swathe cannot be 

 turned over so comfortably as a narrow one, and may require 

 to be divided into two when the rakes are called into action 

 to "make" the hay, but this leads us to the next point — the 

 use of tedders, "kickers," swathe -turners, and other imple- 

 ments of this kind. The original form of tedder has 

 been almost generally discarded, and various forms of turning 

 machines have been brought into use in this country ; while 

 several other forms are in use in America, which have not yet 

 been introduced here. As all these machines are adapted for 

 turning two swathes at a time, each of about 4 or 4J feet wide, 

 the question naturally arises whether a 5 or 6 feet swathe 

 is not very awkward to manage with such machines ? Pro- 

 bably it is, but this question involves the asking of another. 

 Is it necessary to turn hay at all, to " make " it ? Paradoxical 

 or heretical as it may seem, it is deliberately affirmed, that 

 in nine cases out of ten more harm than good has been done 

 to hay in turning it over. It may be perhaps necessary here 

 to state that the writer has had a long experience in hay- 

 making both in England and in Scotland, in all sorts of 

 weather and with all kinds of crop : he has waded for a whole 

 day up to the knees in water to save the hay-cocks from 

 being swept away by the floods in Nithsdale, and has sweated 

 under the blazing sun of Essex where there is but little 

 rain: he makes about 300 acres of hay per annum and 

 has handled probably 8,000 acres in his lifetime — not as a 

 spectator, but as one taking his share of the burden and heat 

 of the day ; and he has also had the advantage of seeing how 

 things are done in several countries abroad. And the result 

 of all this experience is that he affirms that in the great 

 majority of cases the hay is best left to make itself and 

 ought not to be touched at all until it is fit to carry. The 

 exceptional case is where there is continual wet weather, 



