The Republican journal., 1881-06-16


all those plants cultivated in our field.
tol hay. The clovers are not a true grass
Nut We shall include them as such whel
We speak OF grass or hay.
HERDsIRAss AND RED CLOVER
are the prevailing seed sewn for gras,
crops. Some few include redtop, foul
meadow. orchard grass. white clover
and some others. These. with the wilc
products ot tile fields constitute the greer
'""h9g@ from which We make onr hov
When is grass best for feeding purpo-
>-- When do our cattle do the best al
p4~urage, When We can settle this
point satisfactorily and correctly, we have
taken q vast stride on the road of progress
coward the
CORRECT TINE OF CUTTING
rage crops for hay. DO we choose to
-tEe our feed in pastures attain full de-
e'opment OF leaf, stalk, flower, OF seed .
> II better when it has attained a state
1 rlpeneSs and maturity? DO our young
stock then thrive best, our working ami
mails relish it eagerly and our cows give
more and richer milk then If so, which
1 seriously question, then is the time tc
cut it for hay. Then is the time to dry
1T ior our winter ieeding-to make hav OF
it.
II | should be asked when the grass in
pasture and fields contained most nutri-
,uent, when it was reliShed best and gave
3est flesh milk, butter. cheese, or fat.
should say from the
-0IH OF JUNE 10 TIE Doth OF July,
IeIc in Maine. If we are spared a drouth
gain in September, feed possesses a
richness and luXuriance superior to that
ot August or October Without going
through a chemical analysis, Judging by
appearances, | should give this answer.
The question then becomes pertinent.
should grass be cut for hay at these times
# superior luXuriance and quality in
order to make the best hay; or should it
ttain to more of Tipeness than if design
nd to be fed green My answer would
be that grass that is Just fit for a green
feed, will, when properly dried and cured,
make Just tit dry feed
WHY NOT!
What should grass lose by becoming
1oE-in the making, except a portion of
Is moisture! Nothing, think. "But. 4"
says some good old brother, II find Your
green grass hay don't spend like that
which gets about ripe" | am glad YOU
mentioned it, or wanted to, for here is a
point against which many rub. | sup
pose if the same good brother should
feed his stock alternately with sawdust
and meal, be would find that the saw
dust spent Il good deal better,
II oHr object is to get hay that will
pend we'll got more heart in it. some
.~lm 1.-THE ripper the better. and if it is
cut till very late, and gets caught out
p one or two storms it will spend still
letter But if, on the other hand, it is
"lf object to get a quantity of hay that
Fi.l give the
BEST RESULTS WHEN FED,
mat will make the most growth of young
stock, make the most milk, and bone and
muscle for the working team, | am in
Lined to think we should cut as early as
rudence permits and at latest as soon
aS blossoms appear. And rather cut
carly and often than once and late.
We have very much yet to learn about
Utug and curing grass for hay. |, for
ae am free to acknowledge that my
pluirements in this direction are very
United, and the particular Why was ap-
olnted to open this discussion puzzles
l4e, unless you designed to present the
most ignorant one Of your number first =.
We have
VERY MUCH 10 LEARN YET
tlout the time to cut and the manner to
cure. Light will De obtained Icy expert
ment and discussion Of experience. 1t is
d. subject broad and deep enough to oc-
cupy the talent Of every farmer in Waldo
County, collectively in solving correctly.
Not that Our practices are all wrongly
no means neither are they as near per
fert as they may be. or will be in years to
rpme.
Grasses contain water per one hundred
arts, according to Professor Way, as
follows:
Timothy %, meadow foXtail 80, June
-rtss 81, perennial rye grass -, orchard
~, herd fescue I'll, red clover Fl, white
clover 80. Substract these parts from
Jne hundred, and the difference will be
THE SOLID RESIDUE
-ontained in each grass and plant. This
tsdue comprises the elements of nutri-
non, such as starch, sugar, mineral mat
ters, and woody fibre or waste. Now at
what stage Of the plants growth are the
properties OF nutrltlve matters in the larg-
Est abundance, and consequently the
waste the least is question when de-
lermlned which will be guide to us for
cutting. "Make hay while the sun shines,0
is an old proverb, and perhaps none has
"a wider quotation, but it is to be received
with due allowance 1t has been known
ior ages that medicinal herbs are
BETTER DRIED IN TIE SHADE,
and such has been the practice. If med
cinal herbs are better why not nutritive
herbs, following the analogy up? This
we cannot hope to fully accomplish with
the hay crop, but we may have a near
approach to it by curing in the swath and
bunch This plan is absolutely necessary
where clover forms the whole or larger
part OF the heritage to be cured. Too
much exposure to fierce, burning sun
shine is to be avoided. 1t works chem
zeal change in the hay that is detrimen
tai to it. it makes the product dry, stiff
and brittle, destroying much Of the aroma,
and renders it unpalatable to stock.
need not dwell upon this point before in
teligent, practical farmers. \ certain
amount of
SWEATING Is NECESSARY
Tor the production and preservation of
first quality of hay; the great point is to
secure just enough, and to arrest it at
Just the right point. A little deviation
either way will result in damage; OF
course this varies with different kinds of
grasses, and. at different ages at which
They may be cut. No set rules will be
found applicable to all cases, or even a
majority. This fermentation tends to
change certain elements contained in the
grass to others as valuable, and in some
instances more so than themselves. Rains
and I