The Hillsborough recorder. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1820-1879, 1854-07-26
Prom the Northern cuIiiv,,or.
Proper Time for Cutting Grass.


than thirty years it has been common
saying among farmers. that timothy
hay should not be cut until ripe-ihat
is, until the heads were plump and
full Of seed. was raised in a eoun-
try where grass was thought ready
TO cut as soon as IL was large enough !;
and after | came here, l followed the
same practice, although 10 opposition
to the opinion and practice Of many Of
my good neighbors. followed the
practice so long. and had so many OPP
portunities to prove il. that know TO
a certainty that NV practice is right.
For some 8 OF 10 years past. ] have
used more clover. Very often ihaye
not been able to get II all cut befnre
harvest; and having several cattle and
sheep yards, some one lot of cattle had
TO eat the ripe hay, and am perfectly
sure that il is great loss 10 let timo-
thy hay get any thing near ripe; in
fact whenever il begins to come in blos-
som. it is time to begin cutting. lf
there is much to cut, and not plenty Of
hands, some will then get too ripe. |
would prefer good wheat straw, cut be-
fore il too ripe, to ripe timothy hay for
either sheep or cattle.
A number Of years ago. builta COW
house, and that season ] had cut my
timothy hay rather earlier than usual.
| stabbed my cows for the first time
that year; fed them the early cut til
mothy hay, and took every possible
care Of the cattle, but they 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 ever had cattle. |
concluded | had cut my timothy too
green, and that my neighbors were
partly right. Next season let il get
near 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 that, my
cows would get Fat on green hay. AZ
ter ! began to fatten cattle extensive
ly, l found out that my COW stables
were not thoroughly ventilated, and this
was the only reason why they did not
do well in their stables.
The loss farmers sustain BY letting
their hay get too ripe, is immense.
would rather have four quarts of meal
per day, with good green timothy hay,
than to have peck with ripe hay, to
fat 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
properly attended tc, but still it is
more profitable to feed part grain.
have wintered this season, about
600 sheep on straw, with one bushel Of
oil cake meal to the loo sheep per day,
and they are now fat, although but
thin when bought them.
Yours, truly, JonN JOHNSON.
New Geneva. April 8, 1854.
We believe, with our correspondent,
that the loss sustained by our farmers,
by too long delay in cutting their
grass, is immense. 1t is subject to
which we have frequently called the
attention Of our readers for years past.
Both science and experience demon
strate that the proper time for cutting
grass. is when it is in blossom. A wri-
ter on scientific principles involved in
the process Of hay making, lays down
the following rules:-
J.. Grass must be fully developed
before it is mown; if not, it will be
found in its early stages to contain so
much water as to be reduced, on dry>
ing, into so small compass, that il
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 matu-
rity have their starch and sugar and
gum in large quantities converted in
to woody fibre "a wise provision Of
Providence for enable the stem to bear
the matured secds-and as sugar, gum
and starch, are nutritiye elements, 1t is
desirable that these should be preserv-
ed, and hence the point for successful
grass-cutting is that between the full
development 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 Quarterly Journal oi
Agriculture, on the "chemical nature
Of grass and hay as food for cattle" "
says" If, as we have endeavored to
show, the sugar is an important ele.
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