Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1877-07-07
Farm, GARDEN AND HOUSEHOLD.



good hay out of poor material conse
quently, he must not only have som
good plant TO begin with, but must Gu
it at the proper stage of its growth. Tn,
best of timothy and red-top, or any o
the clovers, if allowed to stand INIT
ripe an the leaves drop, are worth Ittl,
more for hay than so much rye straw
and it is to the importance of cutting hay
early that We wish to call especial atten
ton. There is never to much fodder
saved anywhere for the use of stock il
winter but there is a vast quantity
gathered which is almost worthless, be
cause operation is delayed until the
plants are past their best.
Haymaking consists essentially in ex.
. polling the moisture from green heritage
cut IN a succulent stage, and it ought Il
be so conducted as to expel nothing but
water, while retaining as much of this
as will secure the perfect conservation OF
the hay. If too large a quantity OF
moisture is retained, fermentation, fol-
lowed by deterioration of value, results.
The best time to cut a crop for hay is at
the moment of completion of growth in
the stature of the plant, when the forma-
ton of seed has commenced. If the
operation is delayed, the stem begins to
hgnify, or become woody, and the most
important nutrient principles are alb
sorbed by the seed, which is generally
lost by falling out, becoming scattered
during harvesting, or while the hay is
being fed out to the stock. The agricul-
tural chemist as well as our most thor
ough scientific farmers have long since
demonstrated the fact that all plants de-
signed for dry forage should be cut
early, that is, before the seed is formed,
and while both the leaves and stems are
IN soft, succulent condition. We be-
heve this point is so well settled that
none but the most ignorant of our
farmers would advocate delay of hay
making beyond the period named still,
through want of aproper system of man.
agement, hundreds do not get ready to
enter their hayfelds until the season is
so far advanced that making good hay is
out of the question and we think it
would be no exaggeration to say, that,
through neglect to gather in time, the
hay crop of the United States is lessened
in actual feeding value twenty per cent.
"a loss to the country of millions of
dollars annually. This waste of material
is so widely distributed that it is scarcely
felt by individuals still, it is one of the
great leaks which help to keep our farm
ers poor.
1t is not alone in the deprecated value
of the hay crop that the effect of late
haying is seen for another fact, which
has also been fully demonstrated, is,
that the production of seed of plants is
an exhaustive process in itself, and, with
the exception of two or three species of
grasses, injury to the roots and general
loss of vigor follow late gathering of the
crop. In other words, meadows last
longer it the hay is cut early than if left
until the seed has formed, and a second
growth of heritage is more sure tofollow.
Any one who has sown rye or oats for
soiling purposes knows that if mown be-
fore the heads have fairly formed, two,
three, or more good cuttings may be Sc
cured during the season from the origi-
nal roots but let the grain become
fairly formed, and one cutting will be
sufficient to kill the plants. The same
principles hold good in the management
OF the perennial grasses of our meadows
and pastures, and it would be we'll for
every farmer to consider them while
making preparation for haying the
present season.
In many parts of the country there
are large tracts of swamp lands, cover
ed with luxuriant growth of low and
not very nutrient grass, and other kinds
of plants, from which a passably good
forage might be made if they were Sc
cured in season. But these low grounds
are usually left until the very last, be-
cause the product is not SO valuable as
that of the upland ; besides, the heritage
upon them keeps green later in the sea-
son, and tits generally thought that there
is no hurry about cutting bog OF swamp
hay until after harvest, and the hurry of
farm work is over. This view is errone-
GUS, inasmuch as the bog grasses and
other plants growing in such situations
are generally of a lower order and less
nutritive than those growing upon dry
land and they become very hard and
woody long before showing signs of ma
turity by assuming brown or yellowish
color, like those in our cultivated fields.
There are many of these bog grasses or
sedges, which would be eaten by cattle
III winter if cut very early, before the
stems and leaves become hard and
woody and, although we would not
recommend the saving of such materials
for fodder if better kinds have to be neg
lected in order to secure it, there are
thousands of cattle that suffer every win
ter for want of food, and to these even bog
hay would be blessing The old saying
that &C straw-stack or pile of green twigs
is better than a snow-bank for cattle to
wallow in during winter, is applicable to
this swamp hay and we can scarcely
urge too strongly the Importance of gath
ering all such material for the use of
stock in winter. 1t may not be needed :
neither is it always economy to save
wheat straw, especially in regions where
the winters are mild, and better forage
plentiful; but the season may come
when such unimportant material will be
handy, as it is this year in California,
where, owing to severe drouth, all
crops have failed.
The wise man lays up stores for future
needs, as well as for present supply :
consequently we advise our readers not
only to "make hay when the sun shines. !"
but whenever time and opportunity pre-
sent, and out of whatever materials there
may be at command. -NeeO York San.
Household Hints.
To KEEP STOVES FROM RUSHING
Kerosene applied with a cloth to stove:
will keep them from rusting during the
summer. 1t is, also, an excellent mate
rial to apply to all iron utensils used
about farm.
A TACK IN SEASON. the corner of q
carpet gets loose, prevents the door open
ing, or trips every one that enters the