The weekly Oskaloosa herald. [volume] (Oskaloosa, Iowa) 1855-1885, 1873-07-10
HAI-MAkINC.

leaving the grass until the seeds art
half to two-thirds matured before
cutting. While it is true that some
city stablemen prefer timothy hay
the seeds of which is nearly ripe tt
that cut younger, farmers, on the
other hand, are pretty well aware O
the superior value of the hay made
just after the grass has gone out O
bloom. The majority of the farm
ers now concede that the sooner
grass of any kind is cut after bloom
ing, the better results will come from
feeding it. Except for horses, there
is no doubt that red clover is the
most valuable of our forage plants
for hay, and it will come to be more
appreciated as the process of its per
feet curing Is better understood and
practiced. If properly and quickly
cured, it is as valuable for horses
as any other farm stock. If the
leaves are allowed to become broker
and lost in curing, its value is thereby
destroyed in proportion to the loss
but if properly cured, it will winter
anything that will eat grass, in al
perfect manner as any other of oul
forage plants.
To do this properly when a large
proportion of the field is clover, a
tender is essential and indeed we
know from experience that this sim
pie and comparatively inexpensive
implement will pay its cost each year
where any considerable amount OF
hay is to be made /; for witt tender
there is no difficulty, on any drying
day, to fit the hay in perfect con.
dition between the time that it is cut
in the morning and that when the
dew falls at night. With other va,
rieties of hay there is not SO much
difficulty in drying the swathes, in
our hot summer suns, as left by the
mower, unless the grass is heavier
than is usually found on our prairie
meadows. Glover should always
be cut when fully in bloom, especial
ly if the after growth is to be taken
for seed, and only in the early part
of the day. In no case should it be
allowed to stand until the blossoms
get brown. If cut at the proper time
and carefully cured, young stock OF
all kinds will come through the win
ter all right, and no fear of heaves
need be anticipated from its use
when fed to horses, for heaves is &C.
casioned by the effects of heating
and molding in the NOW.
In making hay from timothy, red
top, etc, the same rule of cutting
only in the early part of the day, is
better when extra hay is desired,
but with the press of business on
our western stock farms this cannot
always be practiced, and therefore
it is usual to keep the mower active
ly at work, following with the rake
as soon as the grass is dry enough,
allowing that cut late in the after.
noon to lie and be raked up the next
day. But, if the tender be kept 60
ing after the mower, the hay is not
only more evenly cured, but is also
dried much more quickly, and con-
the juices are better pre-
served. With Hungarian and mil.
lit, where the swath is usually So
thick as to prevent its proper curing
without turning, the tender is really
Indispensable. The only thing to be
observed in using the tender on
grass having much foliage, as clover,
is to discontinue the turning as soon
IS the leaves are half dry.
Now a-days, no horse rake is con-
sidered valuable unless it be strong
enough to bunch the hay after raking
into winrows, and unless there are
Indications of rain the majority of hay
makers do not consider it necessary
TO cock the hay so that it may shed
water, especially if it be stacked in
the field the hay-gatherer follows
The rake, from which it is taken by
the horse fork and pitched directly
INTO the stack. Even if the hay be
hauled directly into barns, cooking
IS not necessary when there is force
enough to carry on all the operations
IF cutting, curing, hauling, ETC., at
the same time.
If a portion of the hay becomes
wet in the heaps after punching, it
should be spread and dried, and
Immediately stacked. If
not quite dry, and the weather looks
untoward, add a little air Stacked
lime to absorb the superabundant
moisture, and stack the weather
beaten hay by itself to be eaten by
he rougher portions of the stock
DR. by those cattle who are allowed
grain. We do not advise sailing hay,
for salt not only absorbs moisture
from the hay, but from the atmos-
phere and sailed bay will often be
found in worse condition for feeding
than that left unsalted. Lime, how.
ever, will not absorb water from the
air to such degree as to liquify,
and lime is as useful as salt in ami
nal economy.
We have said that clover should
be cut as soon as it is fully in bloom,
Or just as it is going out of bloom,
and the same rule will apply to any
other variety of grass with which
we are acquainted. When the plant
is in full bloom it has attained its full
growth, and as the seeds begin to
form the ripening is accomplished at
the expense of the sap already in the
plant. not that the roots do not con,
tinue to draw nourlshment from the
soil for some time thereafter, but in
a slighter and slighter degree; and
the greater digestibility of hay made
from green grass more than compen-
safes for the greater weight of later
cut h-y; and even if this were not
the case, what might be lost In the
first crop will surely be made up in
the aftermath. Another advantage
and one by no means to be overlook.
ed, is the fact that the early cutting
of hay, often enables you to get the
whole business through, and out of
the way before harvest, for this must
be attended to at the proper time,
even it the hay suffer. We think
that if those who have been in the
practice of letting their hay stand
until the seeds are ripe, or nearly SO
before cutting, will adopt the plan of
cutting their hay as here advised,
they will not hereafter be advocates
for leaving hay until ripe, before
cutting Western, Rural.
KEEP YOUR IMP ELEMENTS BRIGHT