THE HAY CROP.

Putaruru Press, 5 January 1928, Page 4

THE HAY CROP.

IMPORTANT r ' PRELIMINARIES. /I Reducing the Risks. . There is no doubt that the hay crop is now one of the most important crops in the district. The tendency nowadays is to look to hay rather than to crops for the wintering of stock, more especially dairy herds. It follows, therefore, that all risks connected with the crop should be reduced to a minimum. With a delicate crop like hay every hour of flue weather is precious, and time wasted in attending to matters that could have been seen to before mowing started may cost pounds in the quality of the resultant hay. Naturally the flrst consideration isthe hay-paddock itself. Most paddocks will now have shut up for some weeks, but in the later and wetter districts it is not too late even now, as a spell of settled dry weather rarely occurs before mid-January, and there is no advantage in having the crop ripe before that date. It is, however, very profitable to walk over the paddock before the grass gets too long and to remove any objects that may impede and possibly damage the mower. Wire and fence-battons are commonly seen lying j about. All hay paddocks should be harrowed before being shut up, but if cattle have been grazed after the harrowing, it is by no means a waste of i time to spend a few nours knocking ! out the larger clots of dung with a r heavy stick.

Mowers are expensive and delicatelyt adjusted machinery. Yet the attention - they receive is often negligible. Hayi i making comes at a busy season, and for j the rest of the year they are forgotten. It is a frequent practice to leave all 5 overhauls till the last moment, whtn it . is often discovered that new parts are i required . As a large number of farm- . ers do this every year, it is no wonder that the implement firms are unable to • deal immediately with a rush of orders l and that delay and disappointment re- . suit. Now, and not later, is the time . when every mower should be f thoroughly cleaned and tested, so that all may be in order for cutting. i { Obtaining a Clean Cut. » There are two very important factors i in the efficiency of every mower, adjustment and sharpness. The bar should be exactly at right angles to the ; wheels and parallel with the axle. If 1 anything the outer end should be r slightly in advance of the inner end, but it is worth while measuring tho angle in order to get trueness. Then ? the pitman often requires adjustment. > When at either end of a stroke the : knife should be in such a position that [ the centre of each section is directly over the centre of each finger of tho | bar. If this is not the case then a j ragged cut will be made and the ; | draught will be unduly heavy. Adjustment can usually be made by altering [ i the length of the pitman. I | The actual cutting of the grass is ef- _ | fected by the shnrlikc action of the j knife-sections against the ledger-plates of the fingers. Therefore both knife - and plates must be sharp. Most . machines have detachable plates and ; these should be renewed if they have become dull or blunted; in sonic eases 1 it is necessary to replace the whole [ linger. It is generally advisable to have a spare knife, so that one can be sharpened while the other is in use. Thorough oiling is, of course, very necessary, as the mower is a high-speed machine. All wearing parts should bo oiled at least every half-hour and the gears twice a day. The knife should not be allowed too much play, but should run freely under the clips, j Rakes, sweeps and stackers also re- ' quire overhauling, so that no time may I be lost when haymaking is in progress. Where drays are used it is advisable to have a dress-rehearsal with the frames. Dray-wheels should be carefully greased, as dust and grass-seed make for heavy draught and tired horses. • The swathe-turner is now coming into vogue in some districts, and a very ! valuable machine it is. if there is sufficient acreage to warrant the outlay. Preparing for Stacking. Selection of a suitable stack-site re- * quires some care. Even in an apparently level paddock it will be found that some spots are decidedly drier after heavy rain than others. Not only does a damp site injure the hay at • the bottom of the stack but it makes I things very unpleasant when feedingout is in progress. For convenience in stacking the centre of the hay paddock is best, Put if the hay is to be fed out in other paddocks, some handy corner may be better and will certainly be easier to fence. Fencing material | should be collected beforehand, as it j may be necessary $o turn stock into the ■ paddock soon after cutting, j It is not always desirable to use the | same site year after year, as the sur- * rounding ground gets poached up during the winter, and becomes very rough a during the summer when stacking takes F place. If the same site is used, the * rank grass round it should be cut with the crop, and old fusty hay removed. If dry, the latter may be used for tho bottom layer of the new stack, but if wet and mouldy it is better out of the way. Every stack should be well clear of the ground. Old fence-posts come in very handy for bottoms, and it is desirable to have a protective layer above these. For this dry fom or* small titree is very useful, though straw is the best of all. The size of the base will, of course, vary with the crop, but the following measurements will be found approximately correct: 10 tons. 4 yards by 8; 15 tons, 5 by 9; 20 tons. 5 by 11; 30 tons, (» by 1-1. It is nlwavs a good thing to have handy some she *t or temporary cover in case rain com a on during stacking; sheets and covers are not. however, suitable for permanent covering.