St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1893-11-11
FARMER AND PLANTER.

FARMER AND PLANTER
..-..AaA,tsPso HAY -.
The cvalssy q Hay DepssAs Pssnsssly ..
The Character of Tie Grass fro0 which
Ie b EorDsA-fhs Dsse Tine - Cot
Ofoaa
The quality Of hay must depend pri-
mar:ly ON the character of the grass
from which IL i formed. No power Or
skill of man can make good hay from
poor varieties Of grass. Man can make
the good poor and the poor poorer than
it need be, but he has no methods or
processes by means Of which he can
give to hay good qualities which the
grass did not possess Though the
hi.Se point Of quality which hay can
reach is beyond the power Of man to
increase. the degree Of excellence which
It will attain is subject TO great deal
Of modification. In the quality of hay,
rs in many other thingA there Is often
a very wide difference between the pos
sible and the actual. One OF the prin-
cipal of the modifying influences Is the
time Mt which the grass il cut II this
is either too early or too late the best
quality of hay into which the grass
might have been made can not Be o.
cured.
Some twenty-five or thirty years ago
there was widespread movement in
favor Of the early cutting of grass for
hay. Many farmers who had been in
the habit Of waiting till the second
week Of July before commencing hay
ing In earnest, began to cut their grass
by June Is. From that time to this
writers in agricultural journals have
been insisting that grass should be cut
early. and rs . class farmers have fol-
lowed their advice. As compared with
very late cutting the moderately
early cutting Of grass for hay il UNI
doubtcdly beneficial II grass stands
too late much of the nutritive matter
Is formed into seeds Quite . proper
tion of these seeds are shelled in the
field or in the NOW, destroyed by mice.
or fail to be digested by the animals
which eat them. The stems become
woody and comparatively innutritious
and unpalatable, and many Of the
leaves are broken OF AID lost. In these
ways much Of the valuable feeding ma
terial Of the plant Il lost
But while very late cutting involves
losses, il il possible 70 20 70 extremes
In the other direction and 70 lose still
more by too early cutting than would
be lost If the grass stood too long.
The writer knew . man who for
some years managed . farm belonging
to town, and whose ideas regarding
the early cutting of grass for hoy were
quite advanced. This man always fin
ished hayinR much earlier than his
neighbors who had farms of equal
size-and he always had . good deal
less hay. 9t sEg-rr n fsfe
What was of more importance than
the comparison of the quality of hay
secured by himself and the neighbor-
ing farmers was the fact that while
under his care the farm did not yield
nearly as much hay as IL did before he
took charge Of IL. or ~ it has produced
since he went away.
The advocates of the very early cut
ting Of grass for hay assert that,
though . less quantity is obtained. the
quality is so greatly superior that the
value Of the crop for feeding purposes
Is increased This theory was not sab
stantiated by the results ON the farm
Just mentioned.
During the years in which the grass
was cut 50 early the farm did not sup
port more than three-fourths - much
stock rs it had previously done and
has done since another manager was
The idea which many hold
that il the first crop Of hay is gathered
very early the rowen win be SO album
dant rs to make mp for any deficiency
which has resulted from this course
was not sustained by the returns from
this farm, anddt has been disproved in
30 many other instances n to cotnpel
the belief that Il is entirely incorrect
The results of chemical investiga-
tion 60 to prove that extremely early
cutting Of grass is not profitable. They
show that the grass plant contains
more nutriment when the seeds are
formed. but before they have become
hard, than IL did at any early period.
But they also prove that very late cut
ling Is far more economical. As the
Of the seed il accompa-
MED by . dimiuution Of the nutritive
in the stalk il u evident the
best time for cutting is very seen after
Inc plants have passed the Towering
stage. .1-,t
Not only is there gain in quantity
md quality by deferring the cutting Of
grass for hay until the plant has well
maturity, but there IL also |
} decided gain in the degree Of ease
with which IL can be cured and kent
trom heating in the NOW or stack. II
mt before It flowers grass contains . |
Tery large proportion of water, and al |
together too much time and labor isre-
luired TO dry Il enough 80 Il can be
'afely. stored. 80 I
Unless special precautions arc taken |
here will always be risk Of heating If |
he grass i cut before IL has made its |
hull growth. In . choice Of evils Il is |
better the quality should Be injured .
little by allowing the grass to stand /
90 long than Il is to have Il injured .
Ireat deal by heating and molding in
he barn. 49,
Owing to the difference In the char
lcter Of the soil, or TO the fact that
liherent varieties are grown, the
yrass in the different fields of many
arms does not ripen At the same time.
Upon such farms II the grass In the
'arliest ripening field il cut as soon -
{ II ready, that in the other fields can
Usually be harvested when il reaches
he proper stage.
Upland glass sometimes ripens two
weeks esriie- than that on lowlands.
md this enables the farmer who has