The San Juan County index. (Aztec, N.M.) 1890-19??, 1904-06-17
MISTAKES IN PUTS
TING UP ALFALFA
Most Farmers Are Careless In
Stacking and do Not
Cure Properly,

T, j. Carpenter in the Denver Field
aud Farm has the following t. say in
regards to, the MISTAKES iR putting up
alfalfa;
81 have been raising and feeding alfal,
ia since 1878 and have fed it to my
work aud driving horses the season
round for many years and will today
show my horses with any in the country
fer big, fat, fellows, considering the
amount of hard work they do, at the
same time feeIing just two thirds as
much grain as formerly. ! have MT |
had poor horse in five or six years. |
When ! read letters concerning alfalfa |
for work horses ! imagine the writers
handle the hay from start to finish in
about this way; They pay no attention
and stacking. They bring the hay up
to the stack on power rakes with 100
pounds of dirt 10 400 of hay and throw
it up in big piles instead of stacking it
perhaps cutting it too green for horses
or too ripe for cattle.
when they come to haul it in to
feed it is half rotton and full OF dirt
and do not doubt it is very injurious
to horses, Then | suppose they feed it
to horses once a day and that at night
giving them twice as much as they
ought to have if it we're good sound hay.
81 will explain how ! handle hay from
mower to manger, | cut the first crop
for cattle only, beginning every year.
weather permitting, on the first Monday
S 10 June. | out at this time so as to put
D the second crop before wheat harvest
S early ! do not touch duy grass nr hay
y while it is the least bit wet let the
j hay cure about twO-thirds in the swath
then rake into small windrows aud let it
= finish curing when ! have it piled into
c medium sized piles with pitchforks
0 'tHanding alfalfa 10 this way gather
e 10 dirt and lose no leaves. The hay is
y then loaded on wagons and hauled to
n the rirks | use old dry hay or stray
for stack bottoms, wire cable AID a
S horse fork. | make my rcks twenty
y feet wide, twenty feet high and sixty to
i eighty feet long, | cover the rcks al
W night with tarpaul4s in case of rain
e while stacking, i secure the rickC
h against wind, then rake them down VIII
d with hand rakes and the older my hay
"a lcc.e.cs 49, ha,!e, l.. ls1s.- all
iced my horse hay in this manner; let
a part of the second crop stand until /
good portion of the bloom has diss ap,
peared, when cut and cure it as before
Sc but put it into the barn-enough tC
le run twelve months-an in order tC
re have it perfectly Cry ! do not put any Of
ne it in the NOV in the forenoon.
II 81 never have musty or dusty hay it |
at ill my barn in the afternoons only, Now
le as to feeding the horses | first though
ne it failure, but instead Of writing
le letters to the papers | went to expert
ps mentng and found the secret. feeC
,s it three times day, giving the horst
re fifty per cent at night, twenty five pei
ed cent in the morning and Twenty-Five
Sc per cent at uoon, with two. thirds a
ne much grain as ! used to feed with OF he
IT. hay. 1 hud by feeding it in this way i
ct is not hard on their kidneys, while if al
ted at night it is Horses will no
IN founder on It but they will eat too mucl
ur if given only once day. Next week WI
is will put up 100 tons Of extra fine hay
Sc which | aiu to convert into beef tn,
N coming winter, feed it to my ia
Il cattle about the same way as DO IN.
1p horses aud would never feed another
he bunch Of cattle If did not have alfalfa