Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1906-06-26
Curing Clover for Hay.

The following timely and practical
suggestions about curing clover hay
are taken from the advance proofs OF
our new book entitled: "Clovers and
how to grow them," by Prof. Thomas
Shaw. This book is the most practical
and complete work of the kind ever pub.
lished. Sent postpaid for 81.
All the varieties of clover, except al.
falfa, are best cut for hay when in full
bloom. Here and there q head may
have turned brown. If cut earlier, the
crop is difficult to cure, nor will 1t con-
tain a maximum of nutriment. II cut
later it loses much in palatability.
Alfalfa should be cut little earlier, OF
just when it is nicely coming into bloom,
as If cut later the shedding of the leaves
in the curing is likely to be large.
All clOvers are much injured by ex-
posure to rain or dew. They will also
lose much if cured in the swath, with
out being frequently stirred with the
tedder; that is, it will take serious in
jury if cured in the swath as it fell from
the mower. If cured thus, it will lose
ir aroma and palatability, through the
breaking of leaves and consequently in
feeding value. To avoid these losses,
clover is more frequently cured in the
cock. When cured thus, it preserves
the bright green color, the aroma and
the tint of the blossoms, it is less liable
to heat in the NOW or stack and is great
ly relished by live stock when fed to
them.
To cure it thus, it ia usually tedded
once or twice after it has lost some of
its moisture. 1t is then raked as soon
| as it is dried enough to rake easily, and
put up into cocks. When the quantity
to be cured is not large, caps are some
times used to cover the cocks to shed
the rain when the weather is shOwery.
These are simply square strips OF some
kind of material that will shed rain,
weighted at the corners to keep them
from blowing away. The clover remains
in the cocks for two or three days, or
until it has gone through the sweating
process. Exposure to two or three
showers of rain falling at intervals while
partially cured in the swath or windrow
will greatly injure clover hay.
When the area to be harvested is
large, clover is sometimes cured in the
swath. When thus cured 1t is stirred
with the tedder often enough to aid in
curing quickly. 1t is then raked into
windrows and drawn from these to the
place of storage. In good weather
clover may be cured thus so as to make
fairly good hay, but not so good as is
made by the other method of curing.
1t is much more expeditiously made,
but there is some loss in leaves, in color
Eand in palatability.
Some farmers cure clover by allowing
| it to wilt little after it is cut, and then
drawing and storing 1t in large NOW.
They claim that it must be entirely free
! from rain or dew when thus stored.
| This plan of curing clover has been sue
cessfully practiced by some farmers for
many years; others who have tried it
have failed, which makes it evident that
when stored thus, close attention mus,
be given to all the details essential to
lsuccess.
Glover may also be cured in the silo.
While some have succeeded in making
good silage, in many cases 1t has no,
proved satisfactory. The time may
come when the conditions to be Observ
ed in making good silage from clover
will be such that the element of hazard
in making the same will be removed
| In the meantime, it will usually be more
satisfactory to cure clover in the or
dinary way.
Grasses cure more easily and more
quickly than clovers. Consequently
when these are grown together, SO
that the grasses form a considerable
proportion of the hay, the methods fol-
lowed in curing the grasses will answer
also for the clovers. The influence that
grasses thus exert on the growing OF
clovers furnishes a weighty reason for
growing them together.-New England
Homestead.