Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-07-10
SEASONABLE HINTS IN
REGARD TO MAKING HAY

l.. r. Hodgson, associate aerononis,
at the Virginia Experiment Station.
has this to say about the proper way
10 make nay. Professor Hodgson says:
The pursuance Of proper methods in
making hay is Of far more Importance
than most farmers accredit il with
| They simply follow the old adage.
make hay while the sun shines" with
no regard to the development of the
plant other than that II is full grown
Aside from alfalfa. most farmers Will
wait till after wheat harvest and
when good spell of weather comes
make nay. They claim that the hay
is easier to make then than before
! because ii is ripper
Now there are some very important
'hings to know about grasses and the
methods of making them into good.
pniatable hay, which I wish to point
out. a great deal of work has beer
done by chemists to determine the pa
iatabiltty OF grasses. but no relation
between palatability and chemical
ANALYSIS has been found. For instance,
w INC ciorers. sweet clover and al
iaifa analyze practically the same. but
their degree of palatability is far
apart; sweet clover. though its name
is sweet. is bitter. and alfalfa is very
mia and palatable. Many grasses re-
tain their palatability until we'll grown.
while other lose theirs rapidly. Pro-
tesSor l.. q. Montgomery in his Pro
ductive Farm Crops" groups them as
follows:
First. Grasses that retain their
quality we'll after bloSsominr period
Tor TWO weeks: timothy. broom grass
wheat grass meadow fescue. rye grass.
Second. Grasses that rapidly lose
chard grass. red top. meadow oat grass,
Kentucky blue grass. sheep fescue
The clovers also rapidly deterioatc af-
ter blossoming. due principally to the
leaves SCATTERING off. Therefore, If
we are aware of this change in the
palatability of grasses and clovcrs. we
can readily see that there is a propcr
time to make hay and not Just any
clear spell after wheat harvest Let us
take the most common mixture We
find on the rich. fertile fields. namely
timothy. red top Or Herds grass. and
red or sapling clover. The latter
should be found because it natures at
about the same time rs timothy and red
top. In this mixture these grasses bios
som we'll together about June 20, and
that is the time they should he en-.
Why? Because the red ton and clover
dctcrioratc very rapidly after this pc
Rod, while timothy could wait till af-
ter wheat harvest, or about July l.
However, the timothy was Just az
good when the red top and clover were
ready to cut, and so it is with the
other mixtures VIC find on the different
soil types. BY knowing the changes
in quality after bossoming time VIC
can determine the best time to har-
vest. The majority of farmers NOV
their grass in the morning after the
dew is off. This is not TO be criticized
but 7 believe from experience that af-
ternoon is the better time for two
reasons: first the grass is allowed to
wilt during the night and cures more
uniformly the next day: second. the
majority of thunderstorms come up
between eleven and 3 o'clock in the
day. and II is preferable to have hay
uncut during rain than laying out
on the ground.
hay after 1t is cut The best place to
put hay is under cover--that is, in a
| barn or hay barracks. When it is put
outside in small stacks or ricks and
left for several months il loses 90 to 80
per cent. Under some conditions. how
ever, ii is more practical to stack or
rick hay out Of doors, especially when
it is TO be fed to cattle or sheep. The
loss in food value will be cqualled by
the gain in labor saved. In putting
hay out OF. doors, it is very desirable
| to put il in large rickS, for there is "A
great deal less exposure and loss due
to weathcrinE than whom put in nu-
mcrous small stacks. When hay is
taken from stack the whole stack
must bc moved. This is not necessary
| in the case of rick; Il small amount
can be cut off with n hay knife just
as satisfactorily as largo amount
and the rick remains uninjurcd.
The farmers OF Virginia arc cordial
~ invited TO write to the Virginia
! Agricultural Experiment Station at
| BlacksburE. at any time for just such
! information as is contained in the
above article and it will he chccrfully
| given