mowburning

English

Etymology

mow +‎ burning

Noun

mowburning (uncountable)

1. (archaic) Damage to hay caused by overheating while in storage.
   • 1855, Knightley William Horlock, Horses and hounds: a practical treatise on their management, by 'Scrutator'‎^[1], page 30:

     In hay for hunters or racehorses, the two extremes must be carefully avoided—over-fermentation, producing mowburning; or under-fermentation, producing mouldiness.

   • 1860, John Marius Wilson, editor, The Rural Cyclopedia, Or A General Dictionary of Agriculture‎^[2], volume 2:

     A practice has long prevailed in some districts, and has, for some time, been generally recommended by many high agricultural authorities, of mixing salt with hay which has been damaged by rain, in the proportion from 14 to 28 lbs. of salt to a load of hay; and when this practice is observed at the time of stacking, it is said, not only to prevent mouldiness and mowburning, but to render the damaged hay fully as palatable as the best-saved unsalted hay.

   • 1901 June 8, Rural New Yorker‎^[3], volume 60, page 414:

     The salt will be dissolved by the sweating of the hay, and will prevent mowburning or molding.

Related terms

• mowburnt