510
§ 2. Of rye-grass and clover, for hay —When it is intendedto save the rye-grass seed of a Lay crop, the operation ofmowing must necessarily he postponed until it is ripe *. Inthis case the crop is generally threshed on a moveable board-ed floor in the field, having a number of barn-cloths spreadout to receive the seed ; and performed when the cocks aredrawn together for the purpose of being formed into tramp-ricks. On this occasion, the hay is very slightly threshedby flails or swiples, so as not to break the hay, and only tobeat out the best ripened seeds. At other times the seed isnot threshed out till spring. Some persons select such partsof their hay field in which there happens to be little clover,and tie up the crop in bunches or sheaves, which they set ontheir butts like corn stooks; and when these are Win or dry,they either build them into a rick carefully thatched, to bethreshed next spring, or thresh out the seed and mix the hayor rye-grass straw with the rest of the crop. In all cases ofthreshing at hay harvest, the raw seed is packed into sacks,and carried without delay to a granary floor, where it isspread out as thin as possible, with free access of air, and turn-ed twice a-day for some time; after which it must be turnedonce a-day till thoroughly dried. Without this necessary pre-caution, the seeds would infallibly grow or malten, and be-come entirely useless, by losing their power of vegetation.When effectually dried, it may then be dressed, or may re-main mixed with its chaff till next spring. It is dressed bymeans of the winnowipg machine or fanners, exactly in thesame manner as grain of any kind, using the fanners gently;or it may be sifted or riddled out of doors, in a gentle steadybreeze, the heavy seeds falling nearly below the sieve or riddle,while the lighter chaff blows to some distance.
* It is common, in some places, to bind the grass in sheaves after the scythe,to set it in shooks to stand till it be pretty dry, and to beat ofF the best of the seedby striking the tops of the sheaves against a sharp-edged spar placed horizontal-ly two feet above the ground. This is as expeditious as the flail, and there ismuch better seed.