The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1884-05-22
Rye.

In many parts of the country rye is .
very important and paving crop. Oh
course, land which will produce twenty
bushels OF wheat. or fifty bushels of
corn to the acre, should not be sown to
rye. In New York, Pennsylvania, HE
nOis and Wisconsin, some of the New
England and several of the Southern
and Northwestern States, there are
many acres of land which will not pro.
duce paying crops of wheat or corn,
and upon these lands rye often proves 3
valuable crop; while very poor land will
grow rye, still no crop pays better fol-
manure. If farmer has land suitable
for rye, which is located near q paper
mill, or where freight is low, it will pay
to raise this crop, as the straw often
brings as much as the grain. A farmer
who needs manure on his land-and
what farmer does not?-may raise rye,
have it ground, and feed the bran to
his stock with cut rye straw. thus fur
nishing an excellent feed for horses
and cows. The writer has wintered
horses on bran and cut rye straw, with
only small quantity of hay, and the
cost was less than half what it would
have been if they had been wintered on
oats or corn, and they came out lively
and in good flesh in the spring.
As a green manure, rye Is very valu-
able to farmers who have not as much
barn-yard manure as the farm needs.
The cheapest way to enrich land is to
sow rye and turn it under while green.
A farmer can better a ford to turn under
rye than to draw barn-yard manure
two miles, if it is given to him. The
time of the man and team will cost
more than the blowing under of rye,
and the carted manure will not restore
the land half as eAectually. Land that
is too poor for clover will grow rye,
and the rye piowed down can be fol-
lowed with clover.
AS soiling crop, rye has no equal
for feeding in the spring and early
summer; and the sooner our farmers
come to understand that on high-priced
land soiling is the true system and the
cheapest for feeding cattle, the better;
and rye is the best crop for early feed.
1t should be sown in September, and
will then be ready for use in May or
June. 1t will not be many years be-
fore our dairymen will abandon the
plan of letting cows hunt for feed over
the farm. Not only can we get much
more from an acre by moving than
cattle can get by grazing, but when the
cattle are kept in stable and yard and
furnished with plenty of litter, the
manure made will pay for the extra
labor.
l need not say that rye mixed with
wheat or corn, or both, makes excellent
bread; and every farmer who raises
rye should have it ground and save the
flour for his own use, while he feeds
the bran to his stock.
Rye, then, is valuable crop for
farmers whose land will grow it, but
will not produce paying crop of corn
or wheat; it is valuable for the straw to
sell or feed. As a green manure, for
WORKOUT land. it has no equal. As a
soiling crop, it is the best for early feed.
As food for the family, it is nearly as
good as wheat, and for stock it equals
corn. To conclude: if your land is rich,
don't raise rye unless as soiling crop;
if the land is poor or worn out, turn
under crop of rye.
In many localities and on many farms
there is always a certain portion not
quite as good as the rest, where it will
pay to raise crop of rye. Often, if
land is beginning to fail little with
wheat or corn, it is well to sow rye. A
farmer must exercise judgment in this
rs in all other matters, but he should
not be afraid of rye, nor allow his preju-
dices to prevent his trying it, Rural
NeU Yorker.