The People's vindicator. [volume] (Natchitoches, La.) 1874-1883, 1881-08-06
Cutting and Curing Hay.

cutting OnO CulA14 nays
Farmers as q class, are rather averse
to receiving advice about their farming
operations. Not one in hundred will
admit that the hay he makes every sea-
son is not first-class, while good judges
of the article know that q second or
third.rate article is the rule, and a high
grade the exception. The first mistake
which the majority of our farmers make
is in permitting foul weeds to get in and
spread through their meadows, not only
crowding out the choice grasses, but
depreciating by their presence the value
of the hay obtained. As soon as mead.
ow becomes infested with weeds it
should be broken up, the land cultivated
for a few years and again seeded down.
The second and probably the most wide
spread error is deferring hay making
until the latest species Of grass in the
meadow is out of bloom, and the seeds
nearly mature. Ripe grass of any kind
makes poor hay, and in nearly all mead
ows there is mixture of various spe.
cies, no two coming into bloom at ex-
actly the same date; consequently, to
make a first-rate quality of hay out Of
such mixed species, all should be cut
when the earliest is in the right stage,
and that is when in full bloom, or when
the flowers begin to drop off. 1t is true
that there may be instances where a
little of the small early spear grass is
mixed in with the timothy or orchard
grass, and if+he quantity is apsmall as
to be of no great Importance, q delay
in cutting may be advisable in order to
secure the more important species in
prime condition. As a rule, however,
farmers do not commence haying sufli.
GENTLY early to get in the entire crop
before some of the grasses are over ripe,
and the hay made from such is always
inferior. , ..... ...
Grass left standing until the seeds are
fully developed may contain as much
nutriment as when in greener and
more succulent stage, but the nutritive
properties are not available, and large
portion must pass the animals as indi.
gestible matter, and this is why our best
and most thorough farmers claim that
grass when cut in full bloom makes
sweeter and better hay than if left until
the flowers have fallen. This is no doubt
correct, for at the stage named grass
contains all the valuable properties re-
quired in hay that it will ever have, and
nothing is gained by allowing it to stand
longer. The maturing and ripening Of
seed is what may be considered an ex.
hausting process, and the roots OF
grasses are weakened more by the ripen.
ing of one crop of seed than of two crops
of hay cat while the plants arein bloom.
We can readily see the effect of seed
maturing upon any of our annual
grasses. If wheat, rye or oats are cut
before the seed is formed, the roots will
Immediately throw up another act Of
stalks; but if the cutting is delayed until
the grain has formed, no second crop Of
stalks is produced, for theplant has then
fulfilled its mission or arrived at matu.
rity. There are many annual plants in
cultivation which can be kept alive and
growing for several years by merely
preventing the perfection of their seeds
and if the farmer would prevent the
exhaustion of the grass roots in his
meadows, he has only to cut his hay
early, in addition to the usual applica-
ton of fertilizers and other operations
intended to stimulate growth. Grasses
growing in low grounds, or what are
usually termed small or bog grasses,
should be cut very early, or the
hay will be hard and wiry. But
as grasses growing in such posi-
tons usually retain their bright
green color longer and later than those
growing on uplands, the usual practice
is to defer cutting them until the latest
moment, or even until the grain harvest
is over. By this time they are Of little
value for hay, however bright and greer
they may appear when cured. The va
rious species of clover in cultivation
should be treated like the grasses wher
cut for hay, and the time to begin cut
ting is when about one-half the head!
are in full bloom. If the cutting is do
layed until all the flowers are open, thu
first to bloom will have ripened thei1
seeds and the stems have become dry
and woody; consequently they would b
of little value for feeding stock. Thu
roots, also, are exhausted in proportion
'ttot the quantity of seed that has maturet
in the heads. .ol ~L-a ws9it ng.
With the improved implements nov
in use upon the farm for cutting curing
and handling hay, farmers ought to b
able to get in the crop rapidly and il
far better condition than it is usually
seen in our markets or in many Of tn
barns throughout the country. Perhap
the very fact that it is possible to gathe
the hay crop in less time than formerl!
is one of the reasons why farmers are 81
H dilatory in commencing operations il
the bayfield,. The difference of pric
between early cut and well cured hay
and the late and poorly cured is full,
twenty five per cent; and this is no NOR
than the actual difference in value 70
feeding stock, Now, to lose quarter o
the value Of q crop through some erro
of judgment, or carelessness in gather
. ing, is far more than any farmer can al
a 10rd, and We appeal TO- those who 5hav
suffered from such losses if it is not tim
ltht they were stopped.-N. y. Sun.
Il III - ...-- - ~. or
t''tt Stake Your Plants. @
d. not slow larkspurs, hollyhocks
! and other experimenting plants, t
!. grow up and topple over before 20
stake them; else they viii not look 8
handsome as il staked early. If perez
NAL asters, larkspurs herbaceous eli
Il matises, and the like come up in a THO
bunch Of stems, pluck away all th
: weakest shoots, and so reduce th
, 4 ~ "a - III L. n