The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1874-01-03
M!kt Eatm+
SHORT HAY CROPS.

A correspondent makes the following
suggestions in the IN. Y Tines"
suppose this is not the only sec
ton of country afflicted by a short crop
of hay, and not the only place where
the cry is and has been, since the fore
part of June last, What shall we do to
supply the short crop? And as your
valuable paper is extensively circulated
among the farming community | will
make a few suggestions. would say
to those that are short of hay at the
present time, to commence at once and
feed grain of some kind, and have it
ground. | have come to the conclu-
sion, by my own experience, that nine
times out of ten, by feeding little
grain, it is cheaper than hay. If You
feed but one pint per day to each an
anal, and continue it until Spring, You
will see good results They do not re-
quire as much hay or other fodder.
They look a little gaunt, but when
Spring comes they will shed off their
old coats of hair as early, and generally
earlier, than those that have all the hay
they want to eat and no grain and
YOU will see that the cows that have
had the meal all Winter will have a
good flow of milk. But we must de-
wise some means or way to meet this
deficiency in coming seasons, for we
have been taught by bitter experience
that we cannot rely solely on our hay
E., ctnnE Of pott Ia.
and horses And now the question
arises, What shall we substitute?-or,
in other words, what shall we SOW or
plant in the Spring to take its place
In this neighborhood are sown corn and
millet. | had few acres of meadow
last season that looked more like pas
ture than meadow / started the pillow
in it the 18th of June and fitted it tho
roughly. and sowed it the 18th with
millet-seed. at the rate of half bushel
per acre, and rolled the ground so that
/ could cut it with mowing-machinc
The latter part Of August ! cut and
cured it, the same as you would hay
| think it Welded at least three tons
per acre and if had left it for the
hay crop, it would have been three
acres per ton. l claim that there is no
fodder that cattle or horses like as well
as milet, if it is cut at the proper sea-
son and cured as it ought to be. There
were other crops than mine grown in
this neighborhood with as good or bet
ter results, and there were some that
were sown latter, after they had moW-
ed the ground, that were not as good.
l would advise those who sow for fod-
der to SOW as early as the middle of
June. After / had cut my piece Of
millet | plowed it over and sowed it
to wheat. The sod was thoroughly de-
composed and it made fine dressing
for the Winter wheat. | think | shall
take the same course this coming sea-
son with other meadow land. for It
pays, and that is what we farmers work
for, whether we get it or not. There
was a good many pieces of meadow
plowed and sowed to corn with good
results They fit the ground good and
sow from three to four bushels per acre.
Some SOW Western and some SOW
State corn, and some mix them. |
think on strong soils State is best, on
lighter soils Western The best way
to harvest it is to cut it with your now
ing machine, put it in good-sized heaps,
and let it stand in the field until you
want to use it. There are some fields
of it standing in heaps at this time
that are nicely cured and in good con,
dition. One would naturally think that
it would spoil, but they will be happily
disappointed with the results if they
try it. | have seen some cut it with
sickles or corn-knives, and then bind it
in small bundles This method requires
great deal of labor. l think it don't
nay