The Wyandot pioneer. (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1853-1868, 1854-06-15
THE PIONEER
AGRICULTURAL. l..
Proper Time for Cutting Grass.

common saying diholiS i"t hlSA9, III iN'
timothy hay should not be cut until ripe
that is, until the the heads were plump
and full of seed. / was raised in coun-
. try where grass was thought ready tie cut
as soon as it was large enough; and after
came here, l followed through the same
practice, although in opposition to the
opinion and practice of many ofmy good
neighbors. followed the practice SO
long, and had so many opportunities to
prove it, that know to a certainty that
my practice is right. For some 8 or 10
years past, have used mostly timothy
hay. Previous to that, used more clo-
Yer. Very often I have not been able to
get it all cut before harvest; and having
several cattle and sheep yards, some one
lot of cattle had to eat the ripe hay, and |
am perfectly sure that it is great loss to
let timothy hay get anything near ripe; in
fact, whenever it begins to come in bios
som, it is time to begin cutting. If there
is much to cut, and not plenty of hands,
some will then get too ripe. | would pre-
fer good wheat straw, cut before it is too
ripe, to ripe timothy for either sheep or
cattle.
A number of years ago, l built a COW
house, and that season | cut my timothy
hay earlier than usual. [ stabbed my
cows for the first time that year; fed them
the early cut timothy hay, and took every
possible care of the cattle, butthey became
poor, would eat but little of my green hay,
and by spring the COWS and young cattle
were overrun with lice, and poorer by far
than l ever had cattle l concluded l
had cut my timothy hay toe green, and
that my neighbors were partly right
Next season | let it get nearly ripe, but
my cows did no better. then concluded
it must be stabling, and took out my stalls,
and turned my stables into sheds. After
I began to fatten cattle extensively. l
found out that my cow stables were not
thoroughly ventilated, and this was the
only reason they did not do well in their
stables.
The loss farmers sustain by letting their
their hay get too ripe, is immense. I
would rather have four quarts of meal
per day, with good green timothy hay,
than to have peck with ripe hay, to fat
a steer with. Cut grass or clover green
cure in swath or cock, and it will make
either sheep or steers fat in five months
without grain if they are eroperly attend
ed to, but still it is more profitable to feed
part grain.
have wintered this season about 900
sheep ON wheat straw, with one bushel Of
oil cake meal to the 100 sheep per day,
and now they are fat, although but thin
when l bought them. Yours Truly,
John Johnston. New Geneva April 8,
1854.
We believe with our correspondent,
that loss sustained by our farmers, by too
long delay in cutting their grass in i'm
mense. 1t is subject to which we have
frequently called the attention of our rea-
ders for years past. Both science and
experience demonstrate that the proper
time for cutting grass is when it is in
blossom. A writer on the scientific prin-
ciple, involved in the process of hay max
ing. lays down the following rules:
l. Grass must be fully developed be-
fore it is mown; if not, it will be found in
its early stages to contain SO much water
as to be reduced, on drying; into SO small
acompass, that it will in quantity much
disappoint the haymaker.
2. 1t must not be permitted to stand
until its seeds are formed, much less ripe.
All plants in arriving at maturity have
their starch and sugar gum in large guam
titles converted into woody fbre--a wise
provision of Providence for enabling the
stem to bear matured seeds-and as su-
gar, gum and starch are nutritive ele-
ments, it is desirable that they should be
preserved, and hence the point for sue
cessful grass cutting is that between The
full deyelopement of the plant and before
the formation of the seeds; in other words
when they are in flower.
A government report, published in the
Edinburgh Quar-. Jour. of Agriculture,
on the chemical properties of grass and
hay as food for CATTLE" says-"If as We
have cndeayored to show, the sugaris ar
important element of the food of ami
mails, then it should be an object with the
farmer to cut grass for the purpose of
haymaking at that period when the larger
amount of matter is contained in it. This
is assuredly at an earlier period of its
growth than when the woody matter pre-
dominates substance totally insoluble
in water, and therefore less calculated tc
serve as food to animals than substances
capable of assuming soluble condition
1t ought to be the object of the farmer tc
preserve his hay for winter use in the con