The bee. (Newtown, Conn.) 1877-1877, 1877-07-12
se@gricaltural,
Curing Clover Hay.

W hupioSc hto iHiu hitci ueW'i"shWheu
notions, one Of the first difficulties he
encounters is In curing clover lay. Very
many 90 around the question instead of
meeting 1t. They plow under clover
and grow corn, corn fodder and roots
for winter feed. II is indeed no small
| job to cut and cure a heavy growth Of
clover. Our summers are too moist, and
even 10 dry weather. clover needs sever
al days to cure. The hay-tedder does
not meet the difficulty, and to attempt
securing clover crop in good order
mainly by the use of tedder, is to leave
the most valuable parts Of the plant
the leaves and blossoms the field.
The stem will still be green and full of
sap, and were we TO wait for the hay ted
der 10 dry this, 1t would all fall to pieces
and be lost. The hay must be cured in
the cock, and prefer to have it turned
and shaken MS little as possible. Ii cut
in the afternoon. it is best to let grass
lie in the swath one day and two nights
raking up after the dew Is off the secOl d
morning. II the sun is shining brightly
or the wind is blowing, the clover will
be apparently dry, and ready for the
barn. But let no man deceive himself.
The dried clover is full of juice, which
needs only compression 10 sci into fer
ment. Put the dried clover into large
cocks as high as your head. In twenty
four hours they will have shrunk one.
third, and in another day TO one-half
their original size. Open these cocks,
and the hay Will seem and feel quite
damp. But here is another deception,
only this time il is the other way This
damp hay is nearly dry. The juices in
the stems and leaves have come to the
surface, and when this is dried, the hay
is cured. The secret OF success is in the
slight fermentation which takes place
In the cock. The heat dries the clover
more effec'ually than sun or winds
would do, and at the same time leaves
its color, fragrance and nutritiye value
uninjured. have seen clover thus cur
ed nearly as bright as when newly cut
Ordinarily clover cannot be well cured
in this climate without hay caps. They
make farmer almost independent of
the weather. He can cut when he
CHOOSES, get his clover 10 cock the same
day or the next morning, cap it, and
wait until there is reasonable certainty
Of fine weather. Very often they will
save their cost the first season, and as
factory cloth is very cheap now, it is
good time to buy supply. Enough 10
cap three or four acres will be sufficient
on most farms The pieces of clover
can be cut in succession. beginning early
and cutting those pieces last which con
tain the most timothy.
Some facts about clover heating in the
NOW are little understood. The ferment-
ing clover is not becoming wetter, as
the heating is only an effort TO throw of
superfiuous moisture. Tint it does not
do this more perfectly is owing to the
fact that the heated air from the NOW,
when rising to the surface, is cooled and
condensed by the colder atmosphere
outside. In the middle of hot day
there will still be somu condensation of
moisture. Look at your clover NOV ear
ly in the morning after cool night, and
you will find the surface dripping with
water. The moisture falls back aud
trickles through the NOW. Many time
when IA boy | heard it said "tbere throw
that wet forkful or wet bundle, on the
top Of the NOV where it will dry" But
l always noticed that it never cid dry,
and that under the wet bundle the grass
or grain would be almost rotten. The
reason why is plain enough. The rem
edy is to provide some dry, warm sub
stance, under which the steam FROM
the now can pass away. If we could
have stove on the NOW it would ans.
wer the purpose; but as We cannot, we
must provide some substance that is at
least dry, if not warm. Dry straw is
the very best cheap and easily obtained
substance that can be had. Some farm
ers mix dry straw in layers through the
NOW. In this way, very green clover
may be saved in very good order. But
however much straw you put in the NOW
or stack, on no account forget to top off
with it. The greener the clover the
thicker should be the covering of straw.
Leaving barn doors open to make
current Ut air over and around the NOW