June 30. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
supposing it to have any, is much modified ; in fact, tho 
' object here to be attained is the supply of plenty of 
i warmth, as it rarely happens that too much is furnished, 
for if it were, a safety valve, in the shape of sinking 
any one of the linings a few inches down below the 
I bottom of the box, or frame, will speedily let off any 
amount of superfluous heat; but we never knew this 
required, and do not believe it ever will be. We may 
observe that, instead of wood, rough stones have been 
sometimes used, and sometimes a combination of wood 
and the fermenting material, as dung-built-up ends, 
! and the centre of the bed of hollow stuff, and if the 
latter be of faggots, or similar small things, it will 
usually sink about as much as the dung ends will do. 
This, however, admits only of lining being applied on 
two sides (the back and front), but it is, perhaps, quite 
as well on that account, and we have seen such work 
exceedingly well; and the genial warmth supplied to a 
bed, from such means, rarely fails to be grateful to 
the plants inside, and we have seen Pines growing 
luxuriantly on this principle in summer. 
Another method, on principles similar to these in use 
in the above cases, is to have an open chamber under¬ 
neath the frame, or box, in which case the bottom must 
i be supported by boards, or other means, and a larger or 
I smaller space underneath, as the case may be. This 
plan has its advantages by all the heat thrown in acting 
i at once on the bed, which, however, is not so easily 
kept up by the bottom being suspended, that a degree 
j of unsafeness seems to hang over it, incompatible with 
j that security which forms no inconsiderable feature, as 
well imaginary as real in many tilings of social life— 
! but where it is in use, the mode of action is precisely 
| the same; the dung, tan, or other heating matter at the 
side, provides the heat wanted by filling the hollow 
chamber below with it, and thence it heats the substance 
above. Modifications of the above systems exist in every 
form; for instance, a hotbed is made of dung, or dung 
and leaves, and a sort of rough flue of faggot wood, or 
other matter, is built into it in one or more plans, 
which forms a means whereby heat from the outside 
may be conveyed to the centre by linings; other con¬ 
trivances, bordering more or loss on this, are to be met 
with, and some build the hotbed entirely of dung, &c., 
and depend on the linings renovating the heat in it 
when that declines, but as this is attended with a loss 
by the almost non-conducting substance the heat from j 
the linings lias to act upon, it is seldom adopted, except j 
in such cases as where the heat of the bed has declined 
before fulfilling all the purposes expected of it; for 
instance, an ordinary hotbed may want renovating in 
the autumn, to ripen oft' fruit that dull weather and 
other adverse circumstances seem unlikely to do 
without, or many other objects may render the appli¬ 
cation of a lining necessary to a bed, which was not 
expected when it was first built. But more of this 
anon. J. Robson. 
HAY-MAKING. 
(Continued from page 220.) 
Having previously treated of the making hay from 
field grass and the clovers, I now propose to write upon 
the subject of making hay from grass, the produce of 
dry pasture land and meadows, including those under 
; irrigation. 
The best time for cutting the meadow grasses for hay 
cannot be named, because numerous circumstances 
continually occur to vary the period, such as the dif¬ 
ference in seasons, and the variation of the quality and 
aspect of the soil. Dry pastures in a good state, where 
245 
they have been laid up early, will usually bring the 
grass forward enough to cut about the middle of June; 
but those which have been neglected, and unmanured, 
will require a longer time, to allow the bottom grass to 
get up, in which case it is desirable to defer the cutting 
until the early part of July, although the earliest sorts 
of grass, which made the first head, may be over ripe. 
When the greater portion of the forwardest grasses 
are in blossom, including the clovers, it is then good 
policy to cut for hay, as a general rule ; but in this case, 
as in most other matters connected witli the business of 
farming, parties must be guided, in a great measure, by 
circumstances, and by their judgment and experience. 
In the case of water-meadows, where irrigation has 
been properly attended to, the proper time for cutting 
tho grass must he decided more by the amount of crop 
than by the forward state of the grass; for it often 
happens that the produce is much laid before many of 
the grasses are in full blossom. When this is the case, 
the sooner it is cut the better, for two reasons—the hay 
will be finer, and of better quality ; and the succeeding 
crop, which is a matter of great importance, will be 
forwarder, and more abundant. 
Where meadows are sou]’, and produce mostly the 
coarser kinds of grass, it is a good plan, when intended 
to be cut for hay, to feed them with cow-cattle, and 
not lay them up for cutting until the first week in 
May, and to run the scythe over, taking off any rushes, 
or coarse grass, which might be left. This effectually 
checks tho growth of the inferior grasses, and gives a 
fair chance for the finer and better sorts to make head, 
which they never do in cold and backward meadows 
until the hot weather sets in. 
In the making of hay, according to the most approved 
method, the number of mow r ers should be fairly appor¬ 
tioned to the work to be done, in order that all the grass 
intended for the same stack may be cut with as little 
delay as possible—it will then be ready for carting 
nearly all at tho same time, and the rick may then be 
topped and made secure against rain. The first thing 
to be done, if the weather is favourable, is to ted or 
scatter the grass regularly over the ground, either by 
women or boys, or, still better (where the land will 
I allow its use), by the hay-making machine. About 
three or four hours after, turn the hay over with the 
j hand-rake in small windrows, and towards evening put 
it into small grass cocks, or pooks, to remain until the 
I following day. This plan is more especially desirable 
in low meadows, which are all liable to fogs at night, 
for it bleaches and takes off the colour, and damages 
the hay like rain, only not to the same extent. The 
second day, open the grass cocks, and throw them into 
! rows, or what is termed narrow beds, after which it 
should be turned once, and shook up light with the prong 
during the day; and in the evening put it together 
into good-sized pooks, as at the end of the second day 
(if the weather is fine) the hay will then be in a forward 
state. The third day open the pooks, and throw them 
into large beds, leaving a good space between to allow 
the hand-rakes, or, what is preferable, the horse-rake, to 
