St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1867-07-12
THE CALIFORNIAN.
farm, Garden and Hitthen.
CtOcer Hay.
CiOcer nay.

We have Tor some wears past. advo-
Gated the cutting of clover for hay At an
earlier stage of its progress than Is COM
mon in this country. The usual lndlca-
ton of fitness for the scythe. Is the brown
ing of the blossoms to the extent OF one
halt or two-thrl,; but it Is 10y no means
uncommon to leave it, under press of
other work, much beyond those points.
the consequences l., too great hardening
Of the woody stems, and Il great and III
rurablc damage done the quality of the
hay hv the rottlng of the lower leave,
These fill the hay with that impalpablc
dust 81 distressing to horses, and. highly
nutritious and valuable rs otherwise it
would he, makes it UNFIT food for them.
We have urged. therefore, the harvest
M Of the crop when 1t ha, come pretty
well INTO flower, without further delay.
That TIL, is the proper period for cutting,
VT may take a hint from the bees and
other insects When they BEGIN to OPP
crate ON tie clover blossoms it is a sim
lhat sugar Ina, been elaborated. If the
clover be not then cut the sugar goes to
perfect the seed, and is lost to the
hay
An experiment made some wears ago
hv Professor llorstor,l, seems decisive Il,
to the point that it Is to be cut neither
before nor after the period OF full de-
velopcmcnt OF bloom He found that
clover cut II the surface OF the .oll, when
the heads Just began 10 appear, produced
only O.NO per cent. OF sugar. Clover
cat when the heads were fully developed
produced LID per cent. of sugar, very
near 30 per cent. more than the cut
first
An import incidental advantage of tue
earlier cutting is that We get Il week or
more Of time in which we may take ad-
vantage Of the good weather, and 80
secure the crop with les risk OF exposure
TO rtin,-a very desirable point. lay
cured thu, early is more nutritious, more
delicate, more apt to be well cured, and
sooner out of the way OF damage from
Exposure, 1t tavors very much, too,
the second or seed crop, by irwin. it the
opportunity of getting it well started be-
for the excessive heats Of SIMMER.
curing III H,W-Grccn clover con
tain-, when first cut, from >cvcnty-liyc to
rl2hty-tlTcc per cent. Of water 1t con
tain- also Il certain amount OF SUGAR.
which l. easily teIncntel Therefore.
if cut and placed III a barn or stack.
should fermentation be produced, il will
destroy the sugar and other nutritious
qualities. and vinegar OF acid will be
produced, rendering the hay sour and I'M
Ill for food Ii sufficiently dried, the ~
gar will remain with the fibre, and the
hay will he nutritious, wholesome food
for stock, and supply the animals not
only with food, but an clement (carbom
which will generate animal heat. 1t
will. from tins view. be seen how impor
tut Il a proper curing OF the hav.
No rule can be given a> to the length
OF time which clover should he allowed
to dry in the sun and air before it is nut
up. because much will depend upon the
previous condition of the weather. the
'lryness OF The ground, and the quantity
OF water the clover may contain, but a
point should be made OF not having the |
leaves destroyed by too much driving in
the sun. But the process Of curing de
mands especially the eye OF the master.
and no advice can he implicitly followed
II must be matter for the exercise OF his
own GOOD judgment.
lHLrr IF Clocr HW-Whilc every
one knows, and is quite familiar with
the iattening qualities OF Il clover pasture
tor stock OF every description, clover hay
Is poorly appreciated. There Is no doubt
that tins Is because it Is generally So
badly cured and impcrtrctly preserved
II i harder TO cure Than the common
hay grasses; Is fit 10 cut when there j,
much more liability TO rains than later
in the season; and it cannot be properly
preserved iii stacks or ricks out of doors.
\ large portion inevitably rots, and the
remainder is more or less damaged -Ay.