1872.] 
the cap ill which the upper part of the heel- 
post turns should be thus lubricated. 
Hints on Haying. 
Making hay “on paper” and making it on 
the farm are two very different things. In this 
case, as in so many others in agriculture, “ to 
kuow is not to be able.” A man may have a 
very accurate knowledge of the principles and 
practice of liay-making, he may understand all 
the changes that should and should not take 
place, and yet make very inferior hay. There 
seems to be a kind of “knack” in making hay 
that is hard to acquire, and still harder to com¬ 
municate. We can not know too much about 
the science of hay-making, but it is still more 
important to have energy enough to apply our 
knowledge. And it must be energy of the right 
kind. We all know men who seem to be re¬ 
markably active and industrious, and who yet 
never accomplish anything. Such men rarely 
make good hay. What is needed is a disciplined 
mind, that can lay plans wisely and take every 
detail into consideration. He must know 
that his mowing machine is in complete 
order, and that he has on hand duplicates of 
such parts as are most liable to break. He will 
not put ofF grinding the knives, tightening the 
bolts, and examining and cleaning the journals 
until the moment he wants to be in the field. 
He will not cut down the hay and then go for 
the tedder or rake and find a bolt out or a tooth 
broken. He will have everything ready in ad¬ 
vance—mower, scythe, whetstone, tedder, rakes, 
forks, wagons, racks, unloading tackle—all will 
be ready, and just where he can lay his hands 
on them in a moment. He will not have to 
spend an hour or two cleaning out the barn or 
making a stack-bottom, some afternoon when 
the hay is overcured in the field and a threaten¬ 
ing cloud in the western sky. The good hay¬ 
maker is a man who not only knows how hay 
should be cured, but he is possessed of the 
energy, forethought, and patience to prepare 
for and direct every detail of the operation. 
And recollect that patience is the crowning 
virtue of the farmer’s life—not the false patience 
which springs from indifference, indolence, and 
a sluggish mind, but that quality which pro¬ 
duces a “masterly inactivity,” that waits until 
the right moment, and then puts forth all the 
powers of mind and body to accomplish the 
purpose. Give such a farmer a good crop of 
grass and an ordinary season, and he will be 
sure to make it into good hay and get it safe 
into the barn. 
We can not go into details. The main points 
to be observed in making timothy or meadow 
hay with little or no clover in it are: 
1st. Cutting the grass when in flower and 
before any seeds are formed. If we cut too 
early we lose substance, if too late we lose 
quality. If the hay is for market or for horses 
we should let it stand longer than if it is to be 
fed out on the farm to milch-cows or sheep. 
2d. Cut it so that if it is necessarily exposed 
to dew the dew shall fall on while the grass is 
green rather than after it is partially cured. 
This is one of the most important practical 
points in hay-making. Dew or rain will not 
hurt fresh, green grass, provided it is got rid of 
before the grass begins to wilt. In heavy grass, 
therefore, that can not be cured in one day, we 
should start the mower late in the afternoon, 
say four o’clock, and cut as long as we could 
see. Rain or dew will not hurt it any more 
than if it was standing uncut. The next morn¬ 
ing, the moment the dew is off, ora little earlier, 
start the tedding machine, lively , and keep it go¬ 
ing, changing horses if necessary. The more 
frequently the grass is stirred the more rapidly 
it will cure. If kept well stirred, the hay will 
be ready to draw in immediately after dinner. 
3d. When grass is cut in the morning, if a 
light crop and somewhat overripe, it may not 
unfrequently be drawn iuto the barn the same 
day. But with heavy green grass this can rarely 
be done. Keep stirring the hay until about 
four o’clock in the afternoon. Then rake into 
windrows, and put it into cock for the night. 
If exposed to rain or dew while spread out on 
the land in this partially cured state, it will be 
very seriously damaged. The next morning 
turn over the cocks, or open them out if neces¬ 
sary, and draw in as soon as dry enough. 
4th. When grass is cut, and rain sets in imme¬ 
diately, while the grass is spread out on the 
land as left by the machine, or in swaths, 
nothing can be done. It is better not to touch 
it until there is a prospect of getting it suffi¬ 
ciently dry to put in cock. As long as it is green 
it wili not hurt. 
5th. When partially-cured grass is wet with a 
sudden shower while spread out, it can not be 
turned or shaken out too quickly after the rain 
is over. Do not wait for the ground to dry. 
Better spread out lightly on the wet grass, so 
that the wind can get through it, than allow it 
to lie flat and sodden. It is necessary to be 
very careful to get such hay perfectly dry before 
drawing in. Spread two or three quarts of salt 
on each ton of this damaged hay when put in. 
Clover Hay requires more time in curing 
than timothy and meadow hay. But the prin¬ 
ciples involved are essentially the same, except 
that after the clover is partially dry care must 
be taken not to shake off the leaves and blos¬ 
soms. If cut early, the tedder may be used to 
great advantage. A good plan is to cut the 
clover late in the afternoon, and the next morn¬ 
ing, as soon as the dew is off, shake it out with 
the tedder. Then, in an hour or two, rake it 
into small windrows five or six feet apart with 
a steel-toothed rake. Turn these windrows 
with a fork, say once before dinner, and then 
immediately after dinner. About three or four 
o’clock, rake into large windrows and cock up 
carefully for the night. If necessary, spread it 
out the next morning and turn it over in an 
hour or two. That which was opened first will 
probably be ready to draw in by half-past ten 
or eleven o’clock. There are many other 
methods, but, all things considered, we prefer 
the one we have briefly described. If we could 
be sure of the weather, we should cure the hay 
in the cock, and it is often convenient to adopt 
both plans. 
-- 
Keeping Roads in Repair. 
The best system of mending the highway is 
that which mends soonest. The old method of 
working the roads annually by the tax-payers 
in person has gone out of use in many places. 
The work was not well done, although the tax¬ 
payers had to use the roads they mended. The 
highways need constant supervision by one man 
in each town who understands the business, 
and who can remedy a defect as soon as it 
makes its appearance. A deep rut is made 
deeper by every loaded team that passes over 
the road, and where the system of annual re¬ 
pairs prevails the highways are almost impassa¬ 
ble in the early spring. We want the same 
thorough system of supervision that prevails on 
259 
our railroads transferred to the highway. This 
has been adopted in some towns in Massachu¬ 
setts, and is found to be much better economy, 
and to give them much better roads. A load of 
gravel in season applied lo the ruts and gullies 
saves the necessity of two loads applied at the 
end of the year. Travel on a well-made road 
does far less injury than the rains and frosts. 
If the inequalities are immediately remedied, 
travel rather helps than hinders road-making. 
Every one prefers the well-beaten track to a 
new-made road. It is quite possible to distri¬ 
bute the repairs so evenly through the year that 
the road-bed may be always in good condition. 
The loss to the farming community from bad 
roads is enormous. It is one of the heaviest 
taxes we have to pay. It is laid on every article 
that goes from the farm to market, and in many 
cases the tax is-so heavy that it swallows all the 
profits. Good roads lessen the cost of produc¬ 
tion; they would cheapen the grocer’s bill, the 
miller’s bill, and especially the cost of fertilizers, 
which are the secret of economical farming in 
the older States. Work the roads to-day, and 
save money. 
Shall we Grind Grain for Cows?—A 
correspondent says: “ If a cow in chewing her 
cud throws up all she eats and chews it over 
again, I do not see where the advantage is in 
getting corn ground at all to feed ruminating 
animals.” The proof of that hasty-pudding is 
in the eating of the corn by the cow. Feed her 
on whole corn, and you will find that, even in 
twice chewing, she does but indifferent work, 
and that much of the grain in her food is passed 
in whole kernels. Grind her com for her, and 
a smaller quantity will nourish her as well. 
More hogs can be fattened after animals fed on 
whole corn than after the same number fed on 
meal. Lastly, try the comparative experiment 
(under exactly the same circumstances) and you 
will satisfy yourself. 
Fiber from Cane. 
Every man or boy who has used a fishing- 
pole is acquainted with the cane, cane-pole, or 
reed, as it is variously called. There are two 
species of cane, the Large Cane ( Arundinaria 
macrosperma ), and the Small Cane (Arundinaria 
tecta), the one growing from ten to twenty feet 
high, and the other seldom reaching above ten 
feet. Both species are found from Virginia 
southward, but the large species is best known, 
and it forms extensive tracts in waste and 
swampy ground known as “ cane-brakes.” 
Until recently, the chief use of canes was for 
fishing-rods and for making cages and such 
uses. In the search for material, for paper¬ 
making, the cane was found to yield a serviceable 
fiber, and now. there are several manufactories 
of it in Virginia and North Carolina. 
This "manufacture is an interesting instance 
of the conversion of what is otherwise almost 
a waste product into a valuable article of com¬ 
merce. In California vast tracts are covered by 
the Tule, and in the Eastern Stales hundreds of 
acres are covered only by the Cat-tail, and though 
the attempts to utilize these have not been quite 
successful, the time can not be far distant when 
such a vast amount of vegetable fiber will be 
made to serve some useful purpose. 
We give sketches of the processes of fiber¬ 
making from cane, drawn by Mr. J. D. Wood¬ 
ward, at the factory on the Cape Fear River, 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
