St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1890-07-19
CURING GLOVER.


A Process That p Net - 00ea;t A.
| Soas Wosla Ioagins.-
| Tho difficulty in curing clover hay
has been greatly exaggerated. ssys
! writer in the Breeders. Gazette. Tbcre
are three methods Of handling 1t; the
first that of whiting it-puttfng IL in .
tight barn and keeping the barn closed
unil it Is thoroughly cured out This
method requires very tight barn. With
tight board or earth floor. and ship-lap
on the sides, NO windows. doors tightly
fitting on beveled edges and kept tight
ly closed, and ventilation only In the
roof The grass must b put in without
. particle Of rain or dew. Il packs very
closely and comes out In fakes very
bright sd some Of the blossoms scarce
" discolored Another method now in
America but practiced largely In En-
gland, is that Of stack ensilaee. have
with me for the inspection Of the m1m-
bers Of this association . sample Of this
hay or silage taken up directly after the
mower and stacked without rolling or
compression. It was sent mo by Mr.. G
A. Hinckley. Of Galesburg. NJ. whois
response to . letter Of inquiry - 70 the
cows opinion. writes mo under date Of
February Is - follows: ''Icsn not give
. very favorable report on the fesdin&
qualities Of the green-curcd hay. We;
found 1t packed very solid. hard to cut.
and very dusty, The cattle did not seem
to eat it very we'll. We made . strong
brine and wet the hay in the rack.
They ate the hay. but IL lasted
longer than the clover cured in the
shock. Ny private opinion II that
clover hay cut in the morning. raked
and cooked up in tho afternoon or next
day, and left to stand three or four days
makes the best hay. The ensilago stack
is in the same field with long rick Of
hay cured In the ordinary method. We
have had from twelve 70 fifteen ooltsRun-
ningin the lot all the fall and winter.
They have not eaten much Of the enst
This method is worthy Of further ex.
perimcntation. but think Will b
found profitable only in catchy wpather
when clover u almost certain - -
moro or less damaged. cloverof course
can be used - ordinary silago, but corn
is cheaper. There should b ordinarily
but little dinculty in curing clover II
the usual way. Three things arc e.
sential: reasonably good weather, hay
shed, and tedder whom the crop Is cut
early and IL Over two tons per acre. Eha
nrst is not under. mans coatrol; tie =
second and third are. A hay shed Usds /,
of poles or dfmension stuif set in the
ground, about thirteen fect apart rooted
wi sh boards and boarded down about.
fve feet with oheds On three sides foF
cattle and other stock makes the. hest ?
barn, shed and manure cover that can bo,
made for the money: and spart from the
in curing clover will pay
Nebraska note shaver's interest On the
money invested every year. II y the,
only investment knowio Of that Will do
It -i
have found it the hest method -
start the mower about four o'clock in
the afternoon and NOW till sundewn. p
and again In the morning ~ soon as
the dew is fairly we'll OF. About nine
o'clock start the tedder. using . FAST
walking team. This will thoeoughly.
shake up the grass. which viii b ready
10 60 into the shed abou: three o'clock.
This is the method adopted In curing
clover from about Juno - to July 4.
The older 1t gets altar thisthe less time
Is required for curing, the less valnble-, /,
The hay and the less chance for . seed
crop. When the grsss Is % far cured
hat on wringin4 It with she hard no
Is visible on the stem it Is suf.
cured and should 60 into the
she'd il once II the weather Be good; II
The atmosphere II mugsy beware! In I.
putting the hay in the barn care should .
be taken that none of IL Lies on cross "
beams Fill each bent separstely. and
lllow it to settle by itself II the hay
s allowed to lodge ON cross timbers air
will be allowed aocess end there will
Do danger Of spon ntaneous combustion.
II tho hay becomes very hot and steamA
md water condenses ON the top in the
put in load Of dry straw and s
,at on moro hay. using two or thres
quarts of salt to each ton. We do not.
However, recommend clover or any
'ther tame hay cured IN this way fx
,oad horses. ass .-r