Staunton spectator, and general advertiser. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 183?-1849, 1838-06-21

SPEED THE PLOUGH.
From the Genesee Farmer.
CUTTING GRASS.

| ~ hlNO 1ttASS.
| MR.. TUcKER.-With Difference hes
! leave to submit to you tand if you thin
proper)tO your readers, a communication
concerning the time of cutting grass. /
saw IN the Monthly Genesee Farmer Of
April. query put forth by a Farmer, as
10 the best time to cut grass for hay, and I
read your solution of the same with much
pleasure. in this communication 1
should differ from your opinion, or the I,
Pinion OF your readers, shall ever stand
ready TO be corrected. think late NOW
ing has many advantages over early now
ing. In these remarks, shall confine
my sell to clover and timothy grass, as
these varieties are most used for hay in
this country. First.as to cutting clover,
think the blossoms should be at least
one-thi-d Of them scared, not ripe but
partly brown. In this stage it will dry
much sooner, and the blossoms, together
with the stock and leaf, will remain more
fresh and bright than when cut before
the blossoms begin to scar o little. In
cutting clover in full blossom, it is almost
impossible TO cure it SO that it will NOT
olacken In the NOW. There is a great
difference in the juice of the grass in the
TWO different stages of growth. When
In iull blossom, the juice seems 10. be
thin, and when the grass is cured il dries
away very much and is light; but when
the blossoms are partially scared, the
juice becomes more thick and gummv.
and the grass when dried does not lose
SO much in weight, and is not apt TO sweat
SO as to blacken in the NOW. but will re-
main bright; consequently the hay will
be better and more nutritious, Second
as to cutting timothy grass, it will do TO
carry the extreme little farther. AS
this is decidedly the best grass for hav
that is grown in Western New.York
the most used. and the VARIETY which
pears ths pest price in market, think a
for cutting woifu De tI1gfi,y Important.
The proper time to cut this grass, is
when the heads become scared or brown
from the top at least one-third down the
head. At this time the grass may be
cut in the forenoon and taken in the
same day without injury. if the weather
is good. The grass at this stage of ma
turity, will decrease much less in weight
in the process of curing than it will when
cut in blossom. The juices will have
become more solid. the hay will contain
more gum, and consequently will become
more nutritious. Every farmer knows,
that in moving early the gum never ad.
heres to the edge of the scythe, let the
weather be ever SO dry but when they
have cut grass that was ripe or nearly
SO, their scy,hes would gum or the edge
SO as to prevent the cut to the scythe, a
sure test as to the goodness of hay
The more gum, the better the hay will
be. Cattle and horses like ripe hay the
best, as well as ripe grain; at least mine
do. | have had an opportunity of tes-
ting the value and goodness of hay when
cut early, and when cut late, and never
had an OK OF horse that would ca,
early moved hay if they could get ripe
have often tried the experiment by
putting both kinds in the manger al
once. The result has always been, thai
the ripe hay would be eaten up clear
and the green hay left. have heard
farmers complain that their working
cattle had lost their appetite in the
spring, and have had the satisfaction o
convincing some Of them, that their cat
tie had first rate appetite for ripe hay
When l have been obliged to feed greer
hay my cattle would never fill them
selves. No matter how much fed them
they would never eat enough TO look
plump; and l have had always to max
up the deficiency in grain or roots Ii
all meadows where it is considered al
object to grow timothy, and retain j
from year to year, it will be found alb
solutely necessary to have the timoih
shell little from the ripest heads, s
that some seed may fall on the ground
By this method you make your meadow
much thicker at the bottom, keep jun
grass out, and grow all timothy as Ion
I as you please. By so doing, you wi
prevent your cattle from the b oof- all
as it is allowed by many experience
farmers that June grass spurred will pre-
: duce this disease. But if you NOW earl
you will leave no timothy seed on tn
ground, your meadows will become thil
and June grass will eventually run th
timothy all out. The seed of the Jur
J grass falls sooner than any other grass
: this country, and this, l think, is II
Z, reason that meadows are so full Of Jur
grass in this country.
j. AS this is a very important subje
/. for the consideration of farmers, boI
i that the able and experienced write
r for your paper will do this subject ju
tice at The same time ! beg that ye