Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1870-08-04

ee THE FARM.
EARLY Cur rHAY.-Annually, as the year
come round, our agricultural papers are ful
OF advice about early cutting hay. TIL
universal recommendation is 10 cut early
Early, says one, is not merely before tn
blossom natures, but actually before tn
blossom appears. We cannot but thinl
that much of what we read about thi
subject is mere "notion, and not the re
suit of any acute observation, or well-con
ducted experiments as to tho value of ha,
made from grass of various ages. There il
no doubt that grass left to become dry be
fore cutting is merely wood, and of littl,
value. IL is indeed but feeding on straw
Bnt then, where is the man who leaves hi,
grass stand to this age. Not one in {
thousand. Such advice is thrown away
For our part We believe that grass Gu,
Just as the flower natures makes the bes
lay. While grass is growing there is it'll,
IN the substance but charcoal and water
but at the Towering time those starchy ele
ments which give value 10 food are being
formed, and then IL the time to prepare il
Tor use. But better than all this theoriz-
ing Is the experience of those who have
/ tried this early-very early cutting.
Their crop of grass has yielded not any
thing near the same weight of hay to the
acre. But this would not make SO much
difference if the stock used less of it. But
the stock eat more. They are not satisfied
with the same quantity. and yet with the
increased consumption they keep IN no bet
ter order. In almost every case know OF
any one actually cutting hay extra early
they have abandoned the practice. and in
time come to cut it just about full flower
ing time.
We know it has become customary to
rail at popular habits as being but fash
ion OF rnnning in old ruts; but We have
often found that there is much more rea-
son in them than people progressively in
clined are apt to think. The public mind
will generally bear little improving, but
IS seldom radically wrong; and we certain
ly think this is the case in the matter OF
the best time to cut for hay. In this Sec
ton We aim to cut just as the flower is fall
ing, and We think this general custom
ight.-Forney,s Weekly Press.
FEED FOR MncH Cows. B.w. is quite
right with respect to feeding cows with
bran and corn meal for milk-the proper
ton is best as he says. two-thirds bran and
one-third meal; but though l would not
feed turnips to milch COWS, on account o
the taste, yet he is wrong about their not
increasing the milk more than quart for
each bushel Pumpkins are good, and the
seed does no harm If it Is attended to that
a COW has no more than belong to the
pumkins she ests.
have tried experiments with pumpkins,
cabbage, swedes, turnips, mangels, carrots
aad kohl rabi in feeding for beef and for
milk, with thousands of tons of swedes
and turnips, and hundreds of tons of man.
gels, carrots and cabbage; my experience
is. swedes make beef the fastest, mangels
next, carrots third, cabbage and turnips
about equal; kohl rabi have only tried for
milk, and that gives a slight taste similar
10 that given by cabbage when cows have n
great many.
For milk, whenbutter is made, / would
not use any of these vegetables excepting
mangels and carrots, and when carrots are
ed with corn meal and hay made from
grass in bloom, the butter is equal to any
made from grass; mangels and carrots fed |
ialf and half with meal and aforesaid hay |
yive rs good results in flavor, but think |
he butter is rather lighter colored accord |
ng to the increase OF mangels.
Sometimes when COWS are fed with |
pp,es spkins in boxes or trouchs in J ard, |
u cows lying loose, there will be an une. |
Iual quantity of seed eaten; for instance, |
'ome years ago grew very large quantity |
Il pumpkins and fed them to dairy COWS |
rom August tlll December (morning and |
hight at milking time)-some of the cows |
elected the seed, but two or three cid |
mes went around and licked ont |
,very seed from the dozen or more |
,oxes where they were left; it did them no |
permanent injury, and the only harm at the |
ime, if it was harm, was that they seemed |
o void more urine; they MIXED equally |
veil and were more ravenous for the pump-
Tins. gave them all a bushel each twice /
! day, cut up seed and all just as they |
anne, and the cows doubled the quantity |
VI milk and more than doubled the butter. |
These cows had no meal or aught but pas
ure besides the pumpkins.
In winter any breed of COWS, old or |
'oung, living on hay, will double their
milk by eating two bush els of cut carrots |
,r mangels per day, but the cows will carry |
Iery much more flesh with half that guam
ity if meal is given with them, and the
milk will be richer and the butter have q |
inc nutty flavor. When cows are fed in
his way it will be difficult to spoil the but.
er. and it does not much matter who is the
so that she is neat.
j. B. w. may be right nevertheless, for it
depends on how the cows have been fed till |
hey had turnips; there are kinds of slops
which can be given cows and increase their
milk so that bushel of turnips would not
i've an extra quart of milk, and therefore
mention this, and dislike to appear contra
lictory, but with respect to the pumpkin
eed am certain there is deal of unneces |
airy trouble taken, for have proved it
'ver and over again. When eaten by fowls
o e1 - IS, it will paralyye them, but if they
ave ether food. the few seeds they eat do
lot harm them. Four years ago / put
'ushel of seed to dry; some boys who
'rought their fathers dinner daily to the
heds, ate half of them in two weeks, at
bout the rate of a gill per day or more
ach, and it did not hurt theme g. in
he Country Gentleman
HooFLANJ's BITTERs.-Hoofisnd's German
q. A. l. l.