The Portland daily press., 1874-07-21
Farm and Garden.
CLOVER AND CLOVER HAY.

But PROBABLY no other crop is so badly man.
aged as the clover crop; none is put in the
| ground in more careless manner and none
is used so hardly; tor it is pastur-d in the
| spring, up to the last moment, then cut for
hay, and then again for setd, and again pas
| tured in the fall, until winter stops it growth,
| when it is left to be frozen ana thawed and
| exposed TO every change of weather until
| spring comes again; thea it is pastuaed until
| it is time to pillow the sod, or what is lelt OF
| it, for COIN. II is not at all range that
| when this croy is used its full. value is not
appreciated, although the Ct that il sur
wives all this. and finally, in its last stage,
| helps to make crop OF corn, is not the least
| of the many proofs we have that its value is
| greatly underrated. Again, its mismanage-
meat does not stop here, but when it is cut
for hay il is very rarely that this is done in
such way as to sec lre the full value of the
| crop. 1t is hardly necessary to point out
| wherein the mistakes occur in the manage
ment OF the hay crop; we will simply point
out how this should be gathered and cared
| tor. leaving our readers TO gatber such hints
as they may fibd valuable for themselves.
| When clover is in full blossom 1t is at its
| point OF greatest value for feed. II then con-
| tans much greater amount of nutriment,
| and muca less OF indigestibe matter han
when fully ripe. Thus bay made from red
clover, cut when in full blossom, contains
thirteen and a half per cent of albuminoids
| or fesh-forming ma ters, thirty per cent
| OF carbohydrates or matters used in respir-
alton and furn shing animal heat, three and
| one-quarter per cent OF fat, aud thirty
five and three-quarters per cent. of crude
| fibre. But hay made from ripe clover con-
tans only nine and ha.f per cent OF flesh
| formers, twenty per cent. of carbohydrates,
70 per cent. of fat, and as much as forty
| eight per cent. OF crude fibre. The loss OF
| value Is, Therefore, very considerable, the diff
ference being four per cent. vi alb1minods,
| ten per cent Cf carbohydrates, one and q
| quarter per cent. of fat, while the excess of
indgestible matter amounts TO over twelve
| per cent And yet large portion, probably
| three iourths, of the hay in The country is
cut when the seed is ripe. The best time TO
begin to cut the clover, then, is when part
| only OF the heads are In blossom, and by the
time that the crop is all down the bulk will
have been in full bloom. If, as is often the
case, the cutting is postponed until some
brown heads appear, the hay is deteriOTaied,
tor it is then partly past its prime, and every
| days delay reduces the value still more. the
handling of the hay is also an important
matter. The foliage of the clover is very
| delicate, and readily parts from the stem
| when too dry. In the rapid drying by the
sun to which this crop is generally subjected
there is much loss in this way. This loss is
prevented by curing the hay in the cock. As
/
| the clover wilted, which will ne in the course
| OF halt days exposure to the sun and wind,
| 1T should be raked into windows. Here il
| should lie until the next day unless rain
| threatens, in which case it should be put up
into heaps or cocks at once. In fair weather
| it may remain halt the second day in
| the windrow, and alter noon it should be
/ gathered up into neat concal heaps, con-
| tanning about 300 pounds OF hay each.
1t should remain in this condition tor twenty
| four hours, by which time il will have under
| gone fermentation and beating. The heat
| ing drives off the greater part OF the moisture
still contained, deveopes starch from por-
ton OF the woody fibre, and sugar from a
portion of the starch, and so tar adds to its
| digestioility. The hay is now ready for the
4 barn or stack. What little moisture it now
contains in excess of that generally con-
tanned in what is called dry hay, is either dis
| sipated during the loading and handling into
4 the NOW, or is too Insignificant to be iDjuri-
Gus. We have frequently put clover hay in-
! to the barn when the undeveloped blossoms
were opening into bloom in the hay cock,
and when, in the winter, the nay was fed the
! blossoms retained all their freshness of color
| and original fragrance. Such hay is simply
| dried clover, having lost nothing but the wa
| ter it once contained, and for the production
I of milk or butter is i'll every way equal, il not
superior to the frsh eibage. Hay thus
ohed aGa m5 H @ ana ihs @y hag bos% % fSa nHfSSSaeeSH S
abundant vapor, but no injury will occur,
| and there need be no fear of spontaneous
! combustion from the beating. There can be
no combustion without access OF air. and it
| is perfectly safe to leave heated hay undis-
| turbed.
After the clover is cat it is poor economy to
pasture it. tor the reason that the growth of
The roo of the plant is in proportion to the
amount OF the foliage, and it Is the large root
| growth of this plant in which lies its chief
| value as an improver of the soil. Besides al
abundant covering of foliage improves the
condition of the surface soil, and protects the
plants from heaving by the frost.-N. y.
Times.
LIQUID MANURE FOR STRAWBERRIES.
An English gardener has been very sue
cessful with lis strawberry crop for several
| years on the same bed, and attributes the
abundance and size of his iruit to the use of
liquid manure, composed of one pound each
EPSON salts, Gauber's salt, pearl ash and
carbonate of soda, and one-half pound of mu-
rate Of ammonia to sixty gallons OF water.
he applies this manure as soon as the plants
show signs of growth in spring, watering
them pretty freely without hose, three lines
at intervals of about week, so as TO finish
before they come into flower; and, ii the sea-
son be dry, he finds it absolutely Necessary to
supply them liberally with common water
afterward during the whole time Of growth,
or their increased activity, he thinks, would
quickly kill them. horticultural for June.
THE VALUE OF OATMEAL AS INFANTS FOOD
In a communication to the Societe Medicale
des Hopitdur, MN. Dujardin- -Beaumetz and
Hardy made known the results of the en-
poyment of oat meal ON the alimentation
and hygiene of infants. According to them,
oatmeal is the aliment which, by reason of
its plastic and respiratory ailments, makes
the nearest approach to human milk. 1t
also is one of those which contains most iron
and salts, and especially the phosphate of
lme so necessary for infants. 1t also has
the property OF preventing and arresting ,he
darrheas which are so frequent aud so
dangerous at this age According to the trials
made by NJ Marie, infants from four to eleven
months OF age fed exclusively upon Scotch
oatmeal and cows milk, thrive very nearly
as well as do children of the same age suck
led by good nurse.