Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1885-06-27
KEEPING HORSES WITHOUT
GRAIN.
How Undertaking is Good for Them.

hay nutritious enough 10 keep Worh
horses on without grain.
Hints have been thrown out from
time to time as to how | managed.
The soil is deep, mellow and rich, so
that large crops grow, and consider
the hay grown on such land, that
will produce some four tons to the
acre in two or three cuttings, as SUI
perior in quality to that grown on
poor, thin land, that will produce but
one, or less. A good friend once as
serted that his fine hay was better
than my course hay. He had an old
meadow which yielded about three
quarters of a ton to the acre, and then
a little "fall feed" We agreed to
leave it to the cattle, and Il sample OF
each was placed before them, when,
much to his disgust, mine was eaten
first, and noses thrust out plainly
asking for more.
There is as much difference i'll hay
as in butter, in my estimation. Fan
CIV creamery cannot be compared
with "store-packed." And then
there is difference in the making
and time of cutting. | have often
urged farmers, through your col
umns, to cut their grass early, when
at its best, and cure itnicely; in short,
to have dried grass and not hay.
Again, to feed work horses, two
thirds at least should be clover, and
the rest timothy. Such hay properly
cut and cured, is just about as good
as very much hay made on farms,
and grain; at least, after some ten
years experience, it 50 seems to me.
Not long since, some writer in your
paper spoke of the loss in weight
from cutting hay so early. Did it not
occur to him that what was lost by
not letting the first crop stand a few
DAYS longer, was gained in the second
crop-that that had Just 50 much the
better chance? Still | do not believe
in going to extremes. | would let
the grass stand till the first clover
blossoms were beginning to fade
With me, this time comes about the
18th or Goth of June.
Again, it makes a difference, as
wrote you lately, how a team is
driven-whether they are over-Work'
ed or over-driven, and whether they
are pretty good, solid-built horses, OF
of thesmall-stomach, race-hOrse style
| have one pretty solid team that has
been kept on early-cut hay alone
summer and winter, for nearly tou
years, except that when idle in the
winter they are fed part straw to keel
them from getting too fat. No mar
could ask for a better team to work
They are active, and always ready
for business. We have just finished
getting in our crop Of potatoes. FO
four weeks they have had solid work
such as blowing to 10 inches deep
drawing subsoil pillow, Acme harrow
Thomas harrow loaded, and the 20
tato planter running ) inches deep
1t has been mostly pleasant weather
and it has been all work and no play
as the season was 50 late we felt com
PEELED to push things. After thi
hard pull, made extra hard becaus
thew were idle most of the winter
and not accustomed to work, they ar
as fatEand sleek as anyone could asl
for, and if you should drive them t
town, where there was chance t
show off, you would need towind tn
reins around your hands to hol
them. Now, | do not say this I
brag, but simply to show what ca
be done, and will give any man tn
team who will prove that | have fe
them any grain for the last thre
years.
But this point l particularly wisI
ed to speak Of in this letter occure
to me few days ago. 1t is, tina
UNDERWRITING helps the horses yer