The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1899-09-15
Aho'h"r Methud OF Curing Ppavinrs.

Tho Chester Lantern publishes tho
following letter from Mr.. A. G. Wise,
of Prosperity, written to friond in
that town:
At tho outset / wish to say that
thero is nothing mysterious about
cutting, handling and curing pea
vino hay. Ten or eleven years ago
the IDEA was prevalent through this
section that tho curing of poavino
hay was mystery; and that tho
planter had to have racks in tho
field, also IN tho barn YARD in order
to cure theh. successfully, aud ever
then with these racks very few farm
ers could savo crop ofpeavino hay.
This is mistake. Tho pea is tho
easiest crop raised wo havo and |
foel safe in saying that tho farmer
who undertakes tho curing of this
proVender with proper methoda--
which arc very simple-will rarely
over lose it. You ask us for our
actual experiences" We havo been
sowing peas for ten years. Wo have
not lost days cutting during these
ten years
The kind Of pcas you SOW will
regulate tho timo of cntting. Wo
think different varieties should be
cut at different periods in tho growth
OF tho plant. Tho spccklcd pea
should be harvested when tho pou Is
ripe and before shedding tho leaves.
One advantage i'll sowing spockled
peas IS that you usually harvest Il
crop Of crab grass with them. 1t is
an early pea and is roady for tho
mower in September, tho samo timo
crab grass is. Our fuvorto variety
is the "Unknown." 1t grows very
luxuriantly. 1t is especially adapt
W. !" ioi"So 40 IL h"S lonR vine.
1t should be cut, as all vine peas
should be, when in tho bloom, thon
you gather all tho leaves, and tho
stems arc tender and will DO oaten by
stock whom fed
Always cut poavines when tho sun
is shining, if you can. We huvo cut
them when it was cloudy and it rain
od on them as long Is threo days
when fresh cut, but this does not in
juro the peavines for hay.
Lot remain on tho ground as it
falls behind the mower blado until
cured. a great many farmers made
the mistake of raking up tho pea
vines too soon after cntting Some
people plant beans, wutermolons,
etc, in tho moon, but we recon-
mend cutting peas whom ready, as
stated above
How long to lie before hauling and
putting into barn? As rulo we
would say cut down tho vines and
leave on the ground two days and
then rako up in windrows and leave
ono day and thcn haul IN. OF course
1T IS understood that there can be no
iron clad rules for this, as the sizo of
tho vines and tho dampnoss of tho
ground will regulate tho timo for
hauling in. When they arc thor
oughly cured take them in, not be-
fore. In caso it >ains on them be-
fore they are raltcd up, leave ITEM
undisturbed until they are perfectly
dry. This will make them q littlo
dark, but stock will eat them as
readily rs if bright. Sometimes it
rains on them while in the windrow,
then let them dry thorc, but it may
DO necessary to turn them over bo-
fore they will dry. Uso Il pitch fork
IN this work. The reason why it is
necessary to turn them over is, in
raking them up in windrows you
gather sand and dirt and tho rain
packs these on tho vines, which
causes them to hold moisture and
must bo moved to let in the air.
Only handle pcavine hay once.
AS you haul it in stack it away in
your barn. Experience has taught
to uso Il little salt on it-not too
much--and stock will eat it with q
great deal Of relish. When haul;no
in, stack tho hay away in layers, say
put three two horse loads to the law
or and sprinkle little salt over each
layer. This will causo tho pcavinos
to undergo sweat, in fact when OK
ahmed the next morning you will