The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1913-05-29

ne OF AecA Onfvefeosy ~ JS1oohu
n the leaves ma not through ths stem
Il The object IN handling. therefore, Il
i to evaporate this water before .lns
leaf structure 10 destroyed by the
heat of the sun, and at the same time
i prevent damage from other sources.
II Surprising the clover to bs CUT IA
the afternoon. the tedder should be
started the next moaning 90 soon no II
dries little, 30 that the sun and
wind may have the greatest drying
action. The heavier the crop and
the less drying the weather, the more
it should be stirred. Twice tedding
is usually enough. When sufficiently
| dry to 60 in the NOW, the less ham
ding the better. There is constant
FLOSS of leaves. and as It becomes drier
1.-THE loss Increases. (.
L With all conditions favorable, the
hay should be ready to NOW the
afternoon of the day after cutting.
las soon as a sample bunch twisted
in the hand tightly shows on moisture
on the outsides Of the stalks It Is
ready to NOW. and no time should be
lost in doing SO. u,
1t will happen in the most OF cases
that clover cannot be cured In one
day. This necessitates punching or
shocking, for If left in the swath the
dew is liable to damage 1t. II good
weather can be depended upon, the
curing may be completed In the win
row. When the weather is doubtful
1t should be shocked, for If once it
gets wet, much labor is required to
scatter and dry 1t and its value is
decidedly lessened.
When the clover Is put in cocks,
these should be small rather than
large, If quick curing is desired. The
cocks are simply miniature stacks.
They Withstand light showers, but
have very little power to shed water,
and a heavy rain is liable to soak
them to the bottom. To prevent this
some have adopted the use of caps
made of cloth and held on the cocks
either by four pins or by a weight
at each corner This increases labor
and expense and has not been adopted
generally.
Storing.
Before going into the barn clover
should be absolutely dry so far as
dew and rain are concerned. 1t Is
surprising the difference between the |
action of the sap, or water in the
stalk, and water that falls on the |
outside. either in the form of rain
or dew. The reason is not hard to
find. The air Is always filled in the
summer season with spores, or min
ute forms of vegetable life, which de-
velop into moulds, mildews, and such
like. These are brought down and
deposited on the clover by rain, and
with moisture and summer heat, at
once start up the heating or ferment
ing process, which speedily ends, il
not interrupted, with the destruction
Of the hay. The sap is entirely free
from all this. It carries no spores
with 1t, hence does little damage as
with dew or rain.
1t is quite true that hay can be put
in the barn too green, and especially
if the weather is sultry or heavy laden
with moisture. Under these circum-
hay Is never SO dry as 1t
seems, and there is danger OF mould. !
Alternate layers of clover and straw
help to remedy green hay, and this
practice causes considerable amounts
Of the straw to be eaten by the stock.
A good leguminous hay is one Of
the essentials to the most successful
operation of practically all stock |
farms. It has NO equal a. roughage !
for cattle and sheep, and It Is recon-
mended by some horse-men for young
horses above good timothy. It 10 q
common belief among hog men that .
part OF the ration of the brood SOW |
during winter should consist Of good |
clover hay.
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