Columbia Democrat and Bloomsburg general advertiser. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1850-1866, 1860-06-23

90 to assist in the formation of seed, and
part to constitute woody fibre, which is
indigestiblc and worthless; and so much
as is thus converted, is actual loss. OF
hay cut at later stage, cattle will doubt
less eat less, and some infer from this, that
it will "spcnd botter;' but the true rea-
son why they cat less is, because the sys-
TEN can digest and assimilatc less. The
actual benefit derived from hay is in pro-
portion to the available nutriment con-
taincd in it.
As far as our observation extends, the
prevalent opinion is, that more loss is
sustained by late, than by too early cut
ting. That grass is sometimes mown too
early, there is no doubt but as general
rule, the farmer had better err on the safe
side, and commence haying early, if he
has a large amount to harvest, eyeh if he
suffers loss by shrnkage of the first mown.
1t gives him better chance to make
hay while the sun shines,' for he has
longer period to secure his crop before it is
" dead ripe" and sometimes saves hiring
help, when labor is at its highest price,
and scarce at that
We have attended many auction sales
of hay, and almost without exception, the
early out aud well secured hay brought u
higher price than that made from the
same varieties of grasses, but not cut till
the seeds had matured.
We think much might be gained by
sowing in different fields, those varieties of
l grass seeds that mature at about the same
time. The southern and western cloyers
usually ripen before rod-top and timothy
are sufficiently matured for moving. Or
chard grass, June grass, meadow fescuo
and some other varieties of grasses, worthy
- Of cultivation, are fit for the scythe abou
Z the time the above named clovers arc
: and mixture of these would undoubtedl,
. make better quality of hay, than tn,
. clover alone. The fields of such grasses
could be cleared Of thcirGrops before til,
. northern clover, red-top and timoth,
would need cutting. These kinds, on wei
u prepared lands, frequently yield lorg
/, crops of excellent hay, if cut at the righ
j period, and made mostly in the cock
Some farmers object to the culture of tn
s northern or pea-vine variety of clover, oil
/ account of the size and coarseness of it
e stems; other farmers entertain differen
$ views-we would refer our readers to two
notices Of this variety of clover, at page
, II, and 75, present volume of the Co
Gent.
Il In our own experience with this variety
of clover, when cut in blossom, and most
s. ly made in the cock, we find our cattle tc
5 be fond of it, and they cat the entire
. stalks as clean as they do Of the inel
C grasses. There is another variety o.
coarse or large growing clover, that is
highly recommended by some who have
, grown it somewhat extonsively-it is the
u Swedish or Alsike clover. Like the
northern, it makes large growth; it.
blossoms are white, and its duration in the
0 soil is much longer than the red clover
For, seed, the first crops of these should
: be saved. The aftermath or second cror
n does not, like the smaller varieties, produc,
S seed worth saving,
It OF the different methods of curing hay
'f we may have something to say in a future
st paper.-L, B. in The Country Cent?
:. nun.