The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1881-02-12
HOUSEHOLD AND FARM.


The best paying crop the farmer can raise
is hay. This is u general rule. A good grass,
farm admits of much and good stock hence a
large amount OF manure and good crops OF
gram, corn and potatoes. 1t is an ottrepeated
maxim that the farmer had better buy than
sell hay, meaning that selling hay from the
farm lmpOverisheS 1t. SO it does, and in sell
ing grain and potatoes twice as rapidly. As a
general rule, ii is better to sell hay than to use
Il upon the farm and then sell the crop it nour-
ishes. One Of the paying crops this year is
hay, especially for the farmers living near
the city. The demand for hay in our cities
and the substitution of dairylng and stock.
raising for other branches of farming II thc
best hay.produclng localities, has caused hay
TO maintain higher proportionatc price than
many other farm products Hence, hay Is the
best crop farmers can raise, under any Clrcunl-
, stances, and more especially when the situa.
ton favors him-aS near market and good
grassland. In choosing farm, one of the
chief requisites should be portion adapted
TO the growing of q good quality OF hay, with
out the liability of soon running OUT and IN
yolvlpg the necessity Of reseeding every few
years \ permanent meadow on u farm IS n
mine of wealth that will pay better dividends
than some that purpoTt to yield the precious
metals. Much grass land that IS not especial
ly moist, but dry enough to grow, when pillow
ed good crops Of corn and grass, may BE made
to yield increasing crops for term OF years,
by top.drcSsing. Experiments have shown
that none OF our chief farm crops make letter
returns for the use Of concentrated commercial
fertilizers than hay. ct these nitrate Of soda
Is among the best, rs it has been found that,
on application 10 grassland. it usually much
more than repnys its cost. The tendency OF
the salt is downward and CnriChes the ground
deeply causing the grass to withstand the
drought. Chloride Of sodium or common salt,
plaster, ashes, DOneGust etc, can be used With
profit, if judlciously. TOpdrcssing grass-lands
with stablc.manurc is beng pracliced by many
farmers and with good results; but it Is ms.
take 10 apply coarse manure IN the spring to
your lands. We lately saw field that had
lust been moved and ralScd with a horserake,
where u tOp.drcSsing of green manure had been
applied in the spring. There was consdcra-
BILE straw with the manure, and the manure
withal was somewhat limpy, from not being
sufficiently decompOscd; and the consequence
was large part OF the manure and straw was
disturbed by the rakeeeth and mingled with
the hay. The cli,'cts Of the manure upon the
growth Of the grass was very apparent, and,
had the manure been allowed to lay IN the
heap until fall and the rapid decomposition
prevented by fOIking over occasionally, the
disagreeable result of mixing The manure with
the hay would have been avoided An ad,
joining field upon which the latter method
was practced, gave very favorable results.
Another farmer | know of has used most Of
his manure for several years upon his grass.
land, cultivating but small area in grain and
getting his revenue from stock and hay. His
testimony is that his farm has increased IN
productvcness and pays better than before
Cor. LTr.ston JoWual.