98 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
yet, with these facts staling us in the face, we are not willing to profit by 
the lesson which they teach—we want our children to live without work, 
though we know' it has been the. only substantial means of our success in 
life. Let us raise the superstructure for useful ends, and then bestow 
upon it all the embellishments 1 hat cur means, and sound judgment will 
permit—teach our children how to provide for themselves honestly, be¬ 
fore we bedeck them with gewgaws that serve to inflate their vanity, and 
to sink them in the estimation of wise men. 
HAY-MAKING. 
Philosophy teaches, and many years experience has confirmed us in the 
correctness of her teachings, that not only clover, but all hay in which 
clover, or Any of the succulent grasses, are constituents, should be cured 
in small grass cocks, not rolled, but formed of layers with the fork. The 
objections to the old mode of curing wholly in the sun, are, in the fir^t 
place, that the leaves and finer parts of grasses, dry, crumble and are lost, 
ere the stems and succulent portions are fit to carry to the barn. In the 
second place, that an intense hot sun is hurtful to the quality of the Hay, 
that cured in the shade being always the most fragrant and nutritious. 
Third—it is liable to be seriously injured by the dew, sudden showers, or 
continued rains. And fourth, it demands more labor than the new mode. 
We wrill briefly state our method of management, which experience has 
induced us somewhat to vary. 
Our grass is heavy, averaging, perhaps, 2£ tons to the acre, and 
abounds more or less in clover. Where this preponderates, or is in any 
considerable proportion, we endeavor to cut when the clover has just pass¬ 
ed the lull bloom. The grass is of course succulent and juicy, and the 
swaths heavy. That which is cut in the fore part of the day, if the wea¬ 
ther bids fair, is turned over in swath, but not spread or tedded, after three 
or four o’clock, in order that the wilted poriion may be covered from the 
dew. If rain is apprehended, it is put into grass cocks, instead of being 
turned in the swath'. The grass which is mown in the afternoon is pul 
into cocks the following afternoon, having been turned in the swath at ten 
or eleven, if time will permit, or if the grass is very heavy or wet. We 
never spread from the swath, unless rain falis before it is cocked; and in 
this case it is made into cocks as soon as the water is exhaled, and the j 
grass wilted. We prefer to leave the cocks undisturbed two nights and | 
one day, and until a fair day, in which the curing process may be com- j 
pleted, and the hay housed. It may stand a week in cocks without re- j 
ceiving any injury, if they are properly made. In the finishing process', j 
the cocks are opened in the morning, say at nine or ten, the hay shaken 
up, that the moisture, which is now principally upon the exterior of the 
grass, may pass freely ofT—it is turned over at eleven to two, and at two 
to four it is completely cured, and fit to be taken to the barn. Cured in 
this way scarcely a leaf is wasted, and the hay has a freshness, fragrance 
and fine color, much to be desired. There is at least ten per cent gained 
in quantity, and as much in quality. 
The practice of the best English, Flemish, and French farmers, says 
Deane, is to expose their hay as little as possible to the sun. It is carried 
in dry, but it preservesits green color; and yousee hay two or three years 
old in their market, of so bright a green color, that we should scarcely 
conceive it to be cured; yet they are in the practice of preserving it for 
years, and value it more for its age. The cock excludes it from the sun 
and preserves it greenness; and if a slight fermentation takes place there, 
the hay seldom heats, and never spoils, in the mow or stack. It is the 
best mode to make good hay. 
PATENT SAW-SET. 
We have received the complement of one of these, from Mr. Stillman, 
the patentee, of Herkimer county, with which we are highly pleased, and 
with which any man, or intelligent boy, may set a saw, to any required 
guage, in ten minutes. Every farmer should keepa.saw; and the advan¬ 
tage of having it set and sharpened, which any one may learn how to do 
in five minutes, with this instrument and a four-penny file, will in a few 
days compensate for the expense of this instrument, six shillings, besides 
the satisfaction one ever feels in having his tools in good order. 
Fig. 33. 
B G 
A is a piece of steel, with a sharp corner, across which the tooth is bent, 
with a screw B, to guage the width of the setting; C is a shorter piece, 
narrowed at both ends, for coarse and fine saws, and fitted with a screw 
D. e is a thin slide, passing in or out, to stop (he tooth at the point at 
which it should be bent. Fisa band, by which A, C, and e arc held 
firmly together by means of the screw G. To adjust it to the saw, first 
loosening the screw G,. place the slide e so that the bottom of the tooth 
may come across the corner on A, by the screw D, place C so that the 
tooth may pass in or out freely, and at such a distance from the corner 
that it may cover about half the tooth, secure it by the screw G; turn B 
so that by touching the saw plate, it may set the saw at the desired 
width. It the saw is hard, let the tooth have still more length to bend in. 
NEAT CATTLE—DEVONSHIRE. 
Fig. 34. 
j The Devonshire cattle are classed as middle horns, and have long been 
celebrated for their beauty, activity at work and aptitude to fatten. A 
| description of the fine points of the Devon cattle, will be found in our 
i first volume, page 26. The bull is a great deal less than the ox, and the 
> jeow almost as much smaller than the bull. The cow is particularly dis- 
1 ! tinguished for her full, round, clear eye, the gold colored circle round the 
'■ eye, white horns, mahogany color, and, if waved, the better. 
5 The qualities" of the Devon cattle may be referred to three points:— 
I their working, fattening and milking. 
j As working oxen, upon light soils, or with moderate loads, the oxen 
* are unrivalled for speed. Very few horses exceed them in speed. They 
are docile, good tempered, and, according to Vancouver, a team of four 
3 steers will plough, as a common day’s work, two acres a day. Four 
* steers will do the work of three horses, though a horse is ordinarily 
3 deemed equal to two oxen. They may be trotted, with an empty wag- 
V on, at the rate of six miles an hour. 
r Very few cattle rival the Devons in their disposition to fatten. In 
II a given time, they acquire more flesh, and with less consumption of food, 
v than most other breeds. Their flesh is of that mottled, marbled charac- 
e ter, which pleases the eye as well as the taste. 
Fig. 35. 
For the dairy, the Devons are acknowledged to be inferior to several 
other breeds. Their milk is good, and yields more than an average pro¬ 
portion of milk and butter; but it is generally deficient in quantity— 
There are those, however, who deny-this, and select the Devons even for 
the dairy. The reader will find the extraordinary products of a Devon 
