Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1852-08-28
COVERING GRAIN IN THE SHOCK AND HAY IN
THE FIELD.

Messrs EDITORS notice in your paper of recent
date paragraph from the Marlborough Gazette speaking
of the use by Anne Arundel county cover
ing Of his grain in the shock which
is mentioned something new" 1t may be new and
interesting to many persons and few words more on
the subject may not be Improbable.
distinguished member of the last Congress who Is
extensively engaged in agriculture in Northern State
while here gave interesting details of his farm
ing operations, of which struck more forcbly
than his mode of curing both hay and grain under cover
The philosophy which dictated this he said could be
learned from the practice of our provdent maternal an
cesors who always cured their herbs for winter use
under shelter from the and rain The Shakers who
prepare medicinal herbs for commerce believe pursue
the same course.
In his method he had his covers prepared in advance
These were made Of the common cheap brown cottons
say "fppenybit goods, about two yards square, made
after the of sheet for bedding with
loop each and wooden pin attached thereto for
fastening them to the ground This muslin when dry is
sufficiently porous to admit circulation Of air through
it. and yet Of such that when wet the pores be-
sufficiently closed to turn whatever water may fall
upon in ordinary rain storm The covers serve
for both hay and grain, and with proper viii last for
many years. or can be used for other purposes.
In making hay his process is to cut the grass in the
morning and shake it out of the swarths giving chance
for to partially wilt and the dew and other moisture to
eyaporate After the hay raked into cocks of 200
and 800 pounds EACH and covered with the cloths already
prepared In this condition is left to await his conve
nence for gathering it into his barns The hay thus
ed he assured is worth for richness of flavor and
trment to animal life, full fifty per than that
cured in the ordinary way and subjected to the usual
casualties, In addition to this advantage he avoids all
necessity for scrambing Of hands to get his hay into
the barn to escape threatened gust the labor Of
spreading his hay after 1t has been saturated by show
err and the danger of spontaneous combustion hay
moulded in the barn by being put up in a wet state.
Having completed his "haying process, he is ready
to harvest which he does by cutting his grain
it ceases to draw nutrment from the eartha
stage indicated by the stalk turning yellow and appa-
reny dead at the root The berry OF this time is filed
but not sufficiently rpened for threshng and may be fur
Their benefited by the nutriment still in the stalk The
grain after short exposure the SUM- is then bound and
placed in shocks Of convenient size and covered in the same
manner as his hay In this condition the rpening can be
completed and the cured by the action Of the ato
sphere as well as If standing II grew and being pro-
tected from the scorchng influence Of the and from
rains the berry retains its adhesion to the stalk sufficient
to prevent waste by sbeng out and the hull remains
tender so that in grinding it easily peas off giving n
greater quantity and better quality Of -four with less braD
while the danger Of has been avoided by the gran
being cut just before it had reached the stage wfch
rust is produced.
The saving in the quantity and quality Of -four 4 one
year he stated than equal to the expensgo the
covers without counting the protection from in
creased value Of the straw. ~. II.
ADVANCE I'm BnEApsruPrs The New York burnal Of