Year: 1869

ing our hay. Western hay is, as a
general thing, much inferior to the
same article at the East. This result
is produced by our own management; F;
for nature has done much Tor US, ma
turing our grasses early IN the season,
before the long heated term. and as a
general thing giving US much better
weather for the cutting and curing.


THE TIME OF CUTTING.


just here is where doctors disagree,
at least in practice. not to any great
extent, however, for nearly all Of Gs
manage to render the hay innutritious
and unpalatable to cur stock, and we
rush to the corn crib to make amends.
And this leads to a position Injurious
to our working teams and brood
mares, If not in the rearing of colts.
We find it difficult to winter our
stock without the aid Of corn, while
our Eastern friends have no trouble
on this score, hay being almost their
sole reliance; and they seldom resort
to the grains unless a large amount
of straw is used. For milch COWS and
work teams not half the grain is fed
per head as with US. Taking these
facts as admitted, there are two points
to be considered; either the quality
of our grasses is inferior, or we do
not cut them at the proper time. No
one will admit that our grasses are
inferior, but the more stoutly we
stand up for that little point the
more positive is the other ugly fact
presented that we manage them
badly. But, says one, had we the
barns Of New England We could have
just as g;od hay. Not quite so fast,
my good iviend; for the hay in our
barns Is out little superior to that in
the stacks, for nearly all of it is cut
at the same time, has been over
cured, the sugar washed out of it by
the rains, or bleached out by heavy
dews. ~


In the first place the grass is over
ripe when cut, and IN the second
place is exposed for too long a time to,
the sun ) rays, aud the nightly dews
added to this leaving it in the cock
for days, exposed to the rain storms
that may visit us at that season
Grass 70 make nutritious hay, Should
be cut at the time of Towering, or,
PERHAPS, Just as the seed begins to
torn il then contains all the sugar,
for lone of it has been changed to
starch to form the seeds. The stalk
Is soft and succulent instead of ma
tured woody fibre.


Hay parts with its nutriment as
readily as tea with its aroma, as a
slight sleeping in tepid water will
prove at any time. We may then
have some idea of the injury done to
1t by warm rain or even a heavy
dew


IVLo,, ,,,, 49,, - / Ill "a -.
found that when a little wet, as with a
heavy dew or light shower, that it was
cut with less labor. This led to the
practice OF cutting when in that con
dition. In case of the dew, if spread
out to the sun, little harm was done,
but where the weather continued wet
or cloudy it woald sour. and thus
seriously injure it. Now that we cut
our grass in nearly every case, with
horsepower we need not follow the
old practice. Grass should never be
cut when wet; if the weather is not
suitable to cure 1T at once, better let
1t stand until an improvement in the
weather. Begin to cut as soou as the
dew Is off, when the grass will wilt
and cure in a few hours, by one
o'clock it will be ready to take
up, and unless very heavy or
the sky littly cloudy it will be ready
for the NOV or haystack. Ii may be
drawn directly from the meadow. "A
man will load il on the wagon nearly
as fast as he can put it into cocks. /
have often put it into the barn when
simply wilted, and when done In this
way in limited quantities no harm Is
done, but the hay comes out sweet
and cured in the Winter. If salt is
added at this time the tendency is to
gather more moisture; and after years
OF the practice Of sailing hay have
discontinued it. Some people uso dry
lime in this case, but of its value
have no personal experience, and have
too little confidence in it to give il a
trial. / would prefer to put up my
hay just wilted rather than to expose
it to a shower or q heavy dew. |
have spoiled a large amount of hay
in my day by the common practice,
but now | propose TO make some val
uable use Of the dear bought expert
ence.


With poor hay we must feed the
more grain, but as this excess of grain
Is but poor compensation for good
hay, we should be the more careful
to see that our grass Is cut at the
right time and properly cured. To
winter neat stock and colts In the
best possible condition, ak we need
is good rich hay; and ii We have work
teams, mIlch cows or stall-ied cattle,
we shall need but a small quantity of
grain as compared to poor hay,


1t is we'll settled fact that Eastern
horses do poorly when brought West
and l have no doubt that IL is due to
the FEEDING of poor hay and an exces-
sive amount of corn. The change In
diet is too great for them, and they
give way under it.


We often see farmers cutting hay
after the seed has all fallen out, and
find ID q mixture of aftermath, dead
leaves and stones. 1t we expect to
more than keep life In stock with
such feed, we shall be disappointed.
Then, again, when We go into the
more newly settled parts of the West,
we will find men cutting prairie grass
after the first frost; and, even in this
county, We do not recOlleet an Autumn
during the past fifteen years that large
quantities Of this frosted grass has q OF
been cut. 1t is not strange to hear
this class of farmers say that stock
cannot be wintered without the aid of
corn. | have wintered stock without
corn, with hay aud corn, and alto
gether with shock corn-that is. corn
cutup in September, before frost, and
fed with all the corn.


This is one of the most extravagant
and wasteful modes of wintering
cattle, both in material and labor
that is practiced, and on the whole
the stock will come through in less
good condition than if fed with hay
at least this is my experience; il
both cases the stock have had the