Note E183 — 35.
Reading edition
Oats sown in January would be most likely to rise free from weeds, but it is not often that the season and the soil will admit of such early culture. The whole stanza is somewhat enigmatical. The earlier editions read uniformly: "by the hay," etc., but the more modern have: "buy thee hay," etc., which is probably the correct reading. The obvious meaning is, provide early what may be required, that you may escape risk of failure and dearth. If you buy your hay in May, you are prepared against the worst.