The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1881-11-18
Rye As . s.ili.g Crop.

Rye IS Selling Crop.
The dry. season. has brought into
prominent notice the subject Of green
fodder crops. For soiling or for pas
turage. rye will be found the mott
valuable crop Of the season. It is
cheaper than wheat. is far better as a
fodder. and is ready for use earlier. 1t is
productive of milk If cut before it is hard
and dry, and the surplus. if cut before
the grain is formed. makes excellent
hay. 1t will make good crop of fod-
der upon poor soil and on this account
is especially adapted for the beginning
OF course of Improvement of poor
farm.
But there are some points in regard
to its culture and uses upon which er-
roneOus ideas are current In the first
place, there needs to be thicker seed.
ing than is usual, when the crop is
grown for grain, and the poorer the
soil the thicker should be the seeding
up to four or five bushels per acre. I
have sown all the way from two-and-
a-half to five bushels to the acre, and
three-and -0ne-half or four. have given
the best yield of the best fodder, which
is all the better the finer it is. Thick
seeding gives q thin, slender. tall.
leafy growth which is the best for both
fodder and hay. With three and-one-
half bushels of seed and 800 pounds of
complete concentrated fertilizer,
1 have grown a crop which cut ITO
pounds of green fodder to the square
rod. or more than eight and three
fourth tons to the acre early in May.
This is quite equal to the maximum ex-
pectation of the yield of soiling crops,
which is. that the produce of a square
rod should support COW for one day,
and an Ayrshire or Jersey COW will not
consume more than sixty pounds of
green rye in one day. when she is pro-
vided with four or five quarts of meal
with it.
The most disappointing mistake in
regard to this crop is that it can be cut
several times in the season. This is
altogether out of the question. The
habit of growth of rye is to throw out
bunch of radicle leaves. or imperfect
stocks with spreading leaves, in the
fall. If the season is warm and long.
continued, the roots spread by throw
ing out new sets of similar leaves until
the ground is completely covered as
with sod; if the seed has been sown
early and the warm weather continues
the stocks may throw up from the GEN.
ter of each an ear-bearing stem, the
ear of which may or may not emerge
from the sheath. In either case, to
cut this or permit it to be grazed OF,
destroys the ear. and the plant must
throw up new off-shoots from the roots
or the crop of grain is destroyed, so
that very vigorous crop needs to be
pastured down in the fall not so much
to prevent smothering in the winter.
as some think, but to check its lux
uriance and succulence, which en-
courages the growth of seed stalks in
the fall and which cause it to succumb
to the frost, or to rot under the close
covering of deep, wet snow. In the
spring the plants do not tiller so much
as in the fall. unless when very for
ward and vigorous they are pastured
down and checked somewhat; but they
soon throw up the ear shoot. If the
crop is cut, this must be done before
the sheath has come into range of
the scythe, otherwise the embryo ear
is cut off and the crop is confined to
those stalks which have so far been de-
layed in their growth by the vigor of
the leading ones. At any rate, then
the cutting must necessarily be done
while the heritage is small and before
the main shoots have grown to length
of three inches, else the second growth
will be very light. The first cutting
of rye, in fact, will be so light as to be
hardly worth taking and, if it is worth
it the second growth will be very
light. 1 have grown rye for selling.
more or less for fifteen years, and
have never yet found it to yield a
double cutting worth the labor, if the
first is good for anything. the second
is next to worthless, and If the second
one is to be good, the first must be
taken 80 early as to be of little value.
There is very little growth in rye be-
fore April, and as rye often shows ears
in April it must be very clear that
there cannot be much time to make a
first cutting and yet get a second one.
In fact, one may, under favorable Cir
cumstances, turn few calves on to the
rye in the fall or spring. but not COWS,
excepting under special and rare cir
cumstances. and then merely to save
the rye, rather than to feed the COWS .
full meal
When the heads appear the cutting
of rye may begin and may last until it
is in full blossom. when it should be
cut and made into hay. At this time.
which will be in June, the clover and
early grass will be ready for cutting
and the rye will be getting hard and
woody. Rye has often disappointed
those who have grown it for soiling,
because it has been cut too late; for as
soon as it gets tough and hard, it is
poor milk producing food; but when it
is young it is different. As soon as
the blossoms appear it should be cut
and not left day longer.
When there is ample store of fodder,
the rye cannot be put to . better use
than to pillow it under as green ma
nure for corn. This can be done with
- "a = - E. L.