Hay, straw, and grass, are sometimes cut into short pieces. A portion of this is mixed with grain, and another portion is given by itself, instead of rack hay; in a few cases the grain is given oftener than usual, and divided among all the allotted quantity of fodder. Chaff-cutting is general on the continent. In this country it prevails only in large establishments, and not in all of these. When the fodder is cut, it is termed chaff, and the cutting-machine is termed a chaff-cutter.

The Chaff-Cutter varies in power and in construction. Some are worked by the hand, others are driven by a horse or an ass, a few by steam, and a few by water. Some have the cutting-knives attached to the fly-wheel, and others have them mounted on a skeleton cylinder. Models are to be seen in most of the agricultural museums; and the machines themselves are kept at the makers of agricultural implements. With an ordinary chaff-cutter two men may easily cut 200 stones of hay per week, working ten hours per day. One feeds, and another turns the knives; each changing place with the other as he gets tired. At the same, or less cost, a much larger quantity can be cut by using horse-power. The chaff, whether of hay or straw, is all cut very short, perhaps from a fourth to a half inch; the shorter the better, if it is to be mixed with grain.

The Utility of Cutting has been much exaggerated. There are five or six advantages alleged to be gained by cutting, two of which are in favor of the horse; the others in favor of economy. By cutting the hay it is said that waste is prevented; that mastication of the grain is ensured; that damaged provender is consumed; that chaff is easily eaten; that it is easily and accurately distributed; and that horses like a mixture of chaff and grain better than grain alone. All this requires some elucidation.