The Democratic sentinel and Harrison County farmer. [volume] (Cadiz, Ohio) 1851-1852, 1851-06-18
AGRICULTURAL
FEem the GermmtoFn Telegraph:
HAY-MAKING,

a farm, more important than that of hay ma
king. The crop ofhaymus be the chief re-
Iianee of the farmer for stock feeding, how
ever much or great may be the assistance he
derives from grain and roots. He can never
make these subserye his purpose entirely, |
though heposesses, unquestionably, thepow-
er rendering them most valuable adjqyants |
IN the york. Still hay is the great staple
the principal and main reliance during win
ter. 1t is therefore of the very first impor
fance that this crop should be well cured
consequently any suggestions having ten
dency to ameliorate the quality of the pro-
duct, while, at the same time, it shall effect
dminution of the expense involved in its
acquisition--in other words, any system that
wiLl enable the farmer to economise one-third
pr one-half of the labor usually expended in
the harvest, with an actual benefit to the hay,
must be of practical value to the husband
man and entitled to his special attention and
regard.
By moving ordinary grass in the first part
of the day-permitting it merely to gcit, and
then, with a horse-rake, throwing it into
middling sized and well compact winrows,
and making into "grass cocks" of from
sixty to eighty or hundred pounds weight,
as circumstances may appear to demand, the
crop will be in condition to snake" with
put any furthertrouble, and in manner too,
Which will render it perfectly bright, elastic
and sweet, and far more nutritive than hay
cured iii the ordinary way, by exposure to
the sun. Good grass, cured in this manner,
will always be characterized bFa green and
lively color, and the peculiar aroma, so pleas
ent in hay fields, will be distinguished in the
barns. The succulency of green grass, is
perhaps one of its most attractive features,
and hay made on this principle is heavier
from the desiccation of the native juices, than
the same when cured by exposure. Excess
eive drying causes the stalks to become
brittle, and much is in consequence lost in
i'making," especially if the crop is cut when
very green, or not fully ripened. Upon the
gid plan, frequent spreadings and tossings
we're considered necessary. The field must
be raked carefully, and the next day, per-
saps, the cocks are again spread out, cooked
again, and again opened; and so until the
fibre is broken up and rendered so fine that
cleanliness in securing it is impossible, and
the waste Of time in performing these opera
tiQns, is, after all not to be reckoned as the
most important loss involved in a system
which has nothing to recommend it to the
attention and suffrage of the farmer unless il
he merely the negative excellency of being
3ld The labor of curing hay, under this
regime, is intense !; it is performed, necessari-
", in the hottest part Of the day, and the
time expended in its performance is by no
neans an item Of small or insignificant con.
sequence; for in the hay season, time is al
ways valuable. By pursuing this new plan,
and using hqrserake if the surface of the
soil is such as to admit gifts successful action,
three men will easily perform the labor OF
six on the old plan, unassisted by the rake.
This know to be fact not only from OBJ
servation, but the assertion of my friends,
who have tested both methods for a series
of many years. This fact is proved A
late writer of much critical knowledge and
great practical experience in matters pertain
ing to agriculture, in some remarks upon the
yalue of the hay crop and the best and most
economical method of curing it, says
"Hay cured in this way" i. e. in the
manner above described, 'fs Of greater val
ue, and viii command higher price in the
market, than hay made in the old way by
spreading out thin and drying in the sun,
until it loses its fragance and geen color
The principal advantage of the new method,
over the old, consists, in some measure, in
drying in the shady, the hay not being spread
out very thin the fragrance, and portion o
the juices are thereby retained, and all the
labor Of spreading the first day, is saved
Ipracticed thenew method for over six years.
and therefore know its superior advantages,
No intelligent farmer, who will reflect upon
the subject, and follow the new mode few
years, will ever go back to the old way
am aware that tp farmers in some Of thu
most agricultural districts, my suggestions
may seem to be gratuitous, as they have al
ready adopted the new mode"
A friend to whom ! some years since rec
commended the system Of grass cock curin!
and who adopted it, in part, with view Q
demonstrating its excellency, as he as
sured me, but the reverse, wrote me las
season as al!9Es;-= k|E
II have now wholly fallen into views, il
reference to the superior economy Of curing
in grass cock have tested the systen
pretty thoroughly, and | am convinced 0
what indeed every one must be who will re
duce the method to the ordeal ofexperienee
ps I have that hay, thus cured, is, in man
respects greatly superior to tina cured in th
ordinary manner. Clover hay, in fsct, ca
never be thoroughly made in any othe
way 1t may be dried, it's true; but it
more entitled to the appellation Of hay, tina
the dry, insipid and innutritious haul