Hopkinsville Kentuckian., 1911-08-15
RETROSPECTION OF 1911.
What Have We Learned From
The Experiences Of Past
Six Months.
CHAs. Z. BARKER
In Farmers Home Journal.

for corn. To plant only when some
warmth has come into the land. Do
not be worried because it continues
to rain and be cold. Simply wait.
Keep the disc going when you can.
The work can much more easily
and economically be done before
seed is put into the ground. In fact
very little work is required after
planting as the growth is so rapid.
One Of the very best pieces of corn
in this section was planted first week
in June and has not had rain on it
since and has only had the little
scratch back cultivators through it
one time. "Tis now nearly ready to
tassel and looks as rich green as any
| ever saw. Shall plant 8 acres right
beside it tomorrow. July 18th.
Secondly. We have learned that
turning up an inch or so more of the
red clay subsoil and mixing it with
a little top soil each time, sweetens
the land and makes clover grow and
luxuriate. Never saw better stand
nor finer prospect until the hot dry
winds dried up all vegetation. Only
the clover sown on straw spread last
fall has terminated and it is about
to perish. Thirdly. The way to put
up hay is to do away with all the
machinery except the six foot NOV
ers, IL foot hay rake and sweep
rakes, and put the hay up in field in
long narrow ricks by pitching it up
by hand. Let the hay get ripe. Cut
down on Monday if weather is settled
(if not wait until it isl all the hay you
can. say so to 100 acres start m overs
soon as dew is of and hay is dry.
Start the rakes at noon-never let
the top of hay dry in swarth-rake
into winter rows. Before night
turn rake up the winrows and cock
it up. Keep mowers and rakes 60
ing until all the hay is cut down and
cooked up, thus curing in cock and
not sunburnt. On Tuesday morn
ing soon as dew is off start the sweep
rakes-make ricks on high place
where water will not stand, width of
rake is the proper width of rick.
Keep pushing the loads up together
until rick is long as necessary, 40 to
rs feet, according to amount of hay,
when the rick is long enough square
it up by tucking the edges under.
Commence to run the sweep rakes
to the side from the wind and con-
tinue until rick is 6 or 8 feet high.
Take all the hands up on the rick
every once and a while and make
them get abreast and tramp the rick,
springing up and down to settle it
much as possible. When 6 to 10
feet high throw up hay on the wind
side until it is too high to pitch econ
omicsliy. Leave a wagon by the
rick for a man to stand on to pitch
to one on top who will cap it off.
This can be done very quickly by
putting some hay that has a large
proportion of timothy liz it that
should be sown in bottoms or flat
places in the field for this purpose.
This can be run up TO the wagon
with the sweep rakes. Soon as the
wagon is brought to the rick let all
the hands except two with the sweep
rakes start another rick. With Is
hands at $l.50 each per day we put
up so to 60 tons of hay per day. One
day. two years ago, by starting ear
ly on some hand stacks. we put up
rs tons and finished before sun down.
You say it is big expense to feed and
pay 10 men 81 .5O ger day; true, out
look what you accomplish in a day
and what risk you eliminate frcm
weather. You say you want your
hay in barn or under roof-it will
cost double this to put it there--even
if such a thing were possible you
can't handle this.emount of hay in a
house and in my judgment has no
business there. If fit is to be baled
it will cost % to so cents per ton
more to get to baler than from rick.
Bale hay as soon as you can after
threshing wheat and you can bale all
of it. top. bottom and sides. and
there will be no waste. | had n
bales put aside out of 200 tons and
afterwards sold it for $l3 per ton.