Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1893-05-13
THE HAY INDUSTRY.


in this much needed article of com.
mercc, IL may not be Out of place tC
give a few facts obtained from other
parts Of the country about the hand
ling, curing aud marketing of differ
eut kinds of hay. Baxter Springs
handles prairie hay in large quantities,
hut she will not always do SO. A few
more years and prairie hay will be a
thing of the past at Baxter Springs.
Tame grasses will take its place and
what prairie hay remains will COM
mand mach higher price.
Timothy will be sown, land will
advance in value, hay will sell at from
five to seven dollars per ton loose, and
will find a ready market at home, and
Baxter Springs as a ebay town" will
be Il thing of the past. A few years
ago, before the hay business was de-
veloped at Baxter, many of the farm
ers from the state went TO the territory
and cut enough hay to feed their stock
through the winter, paving the Indians
a small sum for the grass. If 1t raincd
OH few acres cut down they would
let it go and cut more, managing in
some way to not pay for the lost hay.
Those conditions have passed. A few
men have developed the hay business
and made hay land more valuable, so
that at the present time If you wish TO
cut grass you must first pay for IL
Grass being so valuable it is necessary
that all of it be saved after being cut.
1t frequently happens that shower OF
rain bleaches the cut hay before il can
he stacked or baled. To save aud re.
store the green color to the bleached
hay is necessary il YOU wish TO sell it
on the market To do this, cut about
two-thirds as much green grass as you
have bleached hay, and begin your
stack with the bleachcd hay. After
you get your bleached hay about one
foot deep, then place about four inches
Of greea grass over 1t, and so continue
unIll the stack is completed. The
bleached dry hay will absorb the sap
and color of the green grass and come
OUT of the stack in tho spring AL.
Here is Iowa's hay crop Tor 1892 {:
Iowa is rich state and The develop
nent at its rich lands and the increase
in their market value in the past two
years is wonderful. The hay industry
in Iowa leads all others IN point of
value 10 the state. The southern part
of the state raises timothy and clover
all OF which finds a ready market at
home. Cattle feeders pay $S per ton
for hay To feed and make a profit on
the Chicago cattle market. The hay
in the northern part of the state is
mostly prairie, the crop in 1892 being
the largest for years past. Most of this
hay.is consumed in st. Paul and Min
neapplis, Mimi, Milwaukee, Wis,
and Chicago, III. a careful estimate
by the railroad officials OF the Chica-
90. Milwaukee and ST. Paul railroad
and Chicago and Northwestern rail-
road places The number OF ears re-
qnirei 10 haul the haIrd hay from
their own lines at 10000. Allowing
ten tons at hay 10 The car this would
make 100000 tons. which ut an aver
aye at 81 per ton makes y ,600,000.
The average price Of balrd hay IN The
northern part at the state is ~ per
tom; the average price of baled hay IN
the southern part of the state is IS per
ton. the difference in the price OF i'm
proved land. IS per acre, being in favor
of the southern half at the state.
There arc many timothy hay farms ia
the son,hpru part of the state devoted
exclusively Ia this product. The aver.
age raistd is about two tons per acre.
ALFALFA.
This wonderful clover j. a nsiivc of
Frsnre aud Spain where il il known
as "Lurorne. Most people, who
know hui little of this plant, have
brrn led to helicvc it will grow in
dr,. sandy soil. drvoin of moisture.
Nothing is farther from the Truth. AL
ialfa requires more moisture than any
of the other clover plants. l, flour.
ishcs IN dry soil for The reason that il
sends down ront> into The hard garth
and gathers moisture where other
plants cannot. The home of alfalfa un
this continent is ia the mountain states
aud in the irrigated districts of the
Great American Desert" where il
yield. from iour 10 six TONS per acre.
being cut two and three times a year.
The growth Of alfalfa in The West
has brought The price at hay III Den
yer, Colorado. and CHEYENNE. WyO-
ming, down from $50 to rs aud $40 per
ton. There WIS sown IN Kansas Last
year more alfalfa iliauws ever grown
in the past history Of the state. Many
farmers Who tried it 10 '92 claim il is
a great success aud many others say it
is N nuisance on scconni of lming so
hard 10 cure ami save. The Colorado
alfalfa dealer always has his bales ot
alfalfa Lurking green. while The Kan
sas farmer claims his ALWAYS looks
brown, and lays !, ONO the difference
i'm the soil, Whru really The difference