The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1861-07-09
Grass. and Eiay-Making.

y pheasant aud interesting. though Ia
bcriols, part q farm labor. The days are
long ana ihc son BE-, iDsi wlai g needed
10 securc the crop h its best condition
BOZ well calculated q draw heavily upon I
,hc strength d ihc aborcr. The obser.
vance 81 few simple ruls therefore, w'il
not only promote tlc comfort and pre-
serve lhe health n many, bui actually r.
sal, Ia the saving u liie.
Ii Il necessary, ii hnying-timc, 70 rise
carly. where tie grass Il 70 ~ cut with
scythc Al il Is cut much easier when wctwiih
tie dew Than when Il Il dry. But in or
der 10 do this, long and severe labor should
be avoided before breakfast. Before GO
ing 10 the Geld !, would be well TO cat a +
cracker or plain piece Of bread, and drink /
part OF tumber OF water. II going 10
the field at four o'clock, rs we practiced IN
earlier days, breakfast should be taken at /
six. This should no, be IN hurried man
ner. with the whole thought devoted TO the |
days work. but in quiet and deliberate |
way, and attended by pleasant conversa-
ton IN relation TO the business on hand, or
other agreeable topics. The hands, face
and arms should be washed in moderately
cool water, and wiped bright and dry
before coming TO the table. At ten, n
light luncheon Of plain bread or simple
fruit pie, and some cold drink, will be all
that Is necessary before the dinner at
twelve. Tea may then be taken at five,
which should also be light, compared with
breakfast even for men engaged in an eX-
hausling labor.
When these simple rules are observed,
especially those TO be deliberate and quiet
in everything, the severe labor Of haying
may be gone through pleasantly, and with
out the slightest injury TO the system.
IL Is nowhere fashionable, 10 our knowl-
edge, to take the morning glass Of btters,
or to have the "eleyen" and four o.
clock dram in the field. II is undoubt-
edly used in moderation by some persons,
but rarely, if ever, distributed among the
men. Ii was once the custom TO antc-
pate the important advent OF the haying
season, by grazing the larder with an ex-
ira supply Of "crackers and cheese,
dry cod fish" "lemons,' jug of old
jamaica rum" and from fifteen TO thirty
gallons Of the real New England critter,
according to the number Of hands IN the fam
ily and their thirsty predictions Ae-
cordngly there were giants in those days,
or at least, men thought themselves so
and what was sometimes unfortunate
they thought their teams of horses and
cattle so, too, for their loads were oc
casionally left at the foot of the bill, or i'm
bedded hub-dccp in the black mud Of th'
meadow
Under present customs, haying i con
Quoted more quietly, skillully and eheciu
ally than it was under the spirit pressure
TIME or CUTTING, AND now TO CUT
THE GRASS.
The average amount Of land gone Owe
by the mowers of New England, with tn,
hand scythe, is not much, if any, NOR,
than one acre per day, and the averag
crop is no, more than one ton per acre
If n man has twenty-five tons of hay T
get he viii, on this average, have twenty
five acres to NOW oyer,-making, at 81,
so per day, the usual wages in haydn
time. S37 80. To this his board is to b
added for twenty-five days, say S6,2,
making sl3,7j. There are moving ma
chimes of recent construction or modiica
ton with which man or boy may cut 81
acres per day, with case, and cut i vel
either with oLc or two horses, or pair {
oxen. Ii can be cut nearly at this rate !
convenient parcels, say one or two acre
az time, so as TO accommodate the hand
that are to tend and get il in. This wi
COS, for man, four days, S6,00--boan
SI,O0--horse, sI,00--intercst on machin
one year, 5000, making Sl7o0, whicl
deducted from $3.50, leaves a saving
s26,75! But this is not all there is Ii
saving Of spreading the grass, which Il
machine does as it cuts il, and the sti
more important item OF cutting the gra
rapidly when YOU are ready to tend it, {
when The weather Is favorable to make
into hay. To these may be added IL
consideration Of transferring this har
work from man TO beast. and this is espe
tally desirable in many cases, where Il
farmer beyond middle lie is not able
NOV al all
From this view Of the case, il won
seem that the farmer who has twcnty-G'
tons Of hay to secure, would find it &c
nomical TO use a moving machine, even
he were obliged to borrow part Of Il
money 10 pay for il. But single m
chine may be owned and used without i
convenience BY two contiguous neighbor
thus reducing the cost 50 much that near
all may avail themselves Of is advantage
To The moving machine should be a
ded a good horse rake and set Of 4,
caps, and then the farmer is ia coudi,i,
To enter upon the annual campaign wi
great certainty Of success.