The Dickinson press., 1910-09-03
RIGHT TIME TO CUT CLOVER
German Experlmenter Discovers Much
OF DIoestIble Matter Of Hay Can
30 Dissolved Out Of Water,

German ExperImenter Discovers Much
OF DIoestlble Matter Of Hay Can
30 Dissolved Out Of Water.
,9y }. H. SHEPHERD. Dean and Pro
1essor Of Agriculture, Agricultural
College. North Dakota.)
Experiment stations have taken Q
great deal Of interest in this question
Of hay making and have brought out .
good many facts which help to sub
etantiate the belief and experience Of
practical hay makers and feeders in
their views and practises. They md
nat the time to cut clover to get the
greatest amount Of digestible feeding
material is at the full blossom stage.
Farmers have known for years, prob
ably centuries. that clover hay 10 in
CURED very badly by rains or even
py heavy dews. A German expert.
m!enter has found that from one-fourth
20 two.ffths Of the entire digestible
matter Of clover hay can be dissolved
out by cold water. This fact, to-
gether with that Of the greatly less
ened relish for It on the part Of live
stock. explains very well why the
clover hay should be protected against
rain and exposure to heavy dew when
It ia In the swath and practically dry.
f: There is a disposition on the part Of
western farmers to do things whole
sale as a matter Of economy. Labor
rs high In this part Of the United
States and hay and other roughage is
very cheap. I believe that we are over
Impressed, however. with the high
price OF labor and the cheapness Of
Toughage, and that it will pay US bet
ter to take more time and store away
q more palatable lot of hay with q
higher proportion Of digestible mat
ter.
People who make high grade clover
hay follow three different practises.
One is to cut the hay in the morn.
Ing after the dew is of the grass, ted
1t several times during the day, load
1t on wagons and haul 1t to the barns
or sheds before night. This plan
gives excellent hay generally. but re-
quires a considerable amount of extra
work. Occasionally the weather is I'M.
favorable during the day, and the plan
does not work out; that is, the hay Is
not dry enough to stack when night
comes, and at times the value of it is
greatly reduced by rain falling upon 1t.
The second plan is to cut the hay
late in the afternoon, so that it will
not be cured enough for the dew to
cause 1t any harm. It will be fit to
store or stack in the NOW or stack in
the last half of the afternoon of the
second day with very much less ted
ding than is the case with hay which
is to be moved the daT it is cut.
The third plan is to rake the hay
and cook it after it has a little more
than wilted. The cocks are made
small and the hay is allowed to cure
and go through. the sweat in the
field. Those who make hay in this
way commonly provide themselves
with shock covers, or caps. as they are
called, to prevent loss when rain
comes Unexpectedly.
When clover hay is allowed to go
completely dry before it Is raken into
the winrow, a large portion of leaves
and finer stems are broken of, which
lodge in the stubble and are lost. This
leaves the woody, course fiber as the
part Of the hay which q saved and,
makes the product very much infe1
rior in every way to hay which has,
retained the clover leaves and the
lighter steps. Those parts Of the
clover plant n almost wholly diges-
tible. and are very greatly relished by
live stock Of all sorts, and in conse-
quence should be retained In the hay;
whenever 1t is practicable to do so.
The dairy farmer who realizes that
his cow must be catered to with a ra-
ton that suits her and one which will
induce her to eat a large quantity Of
feed, will find that he can afford
to spend a little more time in hay ma
king than Is done when the stacker
and sweep rakes are used as q means
Of loading the hay from the swath to
the stack. The hay stacker and sweep
rake are quicker and cheaper ways Of
putting up hay, but we will do we'll
to determine where the loss of value
In the hay becomes greater than the
saving in the expense or putting up
the the crop. This is a matter, I be;
lfeve, that must be decided largely on
the individual farm, as what will pay
me farmer may prove a losing plan
to another. Giving more thought to
the matter Of hay making now when
clover and alfalfa are to be handled, 1t
Is we'll nigh imperative.