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The Country Gcutlcmaiis Alagadnc 



there remains so much to be said in favour of 

 special arrangementsforventilating hay-stacks. 

 These may consist of the ordinary form of corn- 

 stack bosses, or of some special contrivance, 

 such as the ventilating tube of Marshall, 

 as made by Garrett &: Co. of Saxandham, 

 Suffolk. 



It is here worthy of note, however, when 

 on the subject of the heating of hay in stack, 

 that the slight degree of heating, which arises 

 from the sap or moisture contained or left 

 naturally in the hay, is not to be feared ; it is, 

 indeed, on the contrary, perhaps, to be de- 

 sired, as bringing about that chemical action 

 in parts of the fibre which will make it more 

 nutritious — at all events, more " tasty," to 

 use a common but expressive term — to the 

 animals which partake of it. It often hap- 

 pens that in adverse seasons the hay is got — 

 and can even with the greatest care only be 

 got — in that unsound condition, that if not to 

 restore it to that sound condition so much to 

 be desired, at all events to bring back or give 

 to it some of the palatable conditions of sound 

 hay, salt is strewed over the hay as it is 

 placed in layers in the stack. The salting is 

 not approved of by some, but if not overdone 

 we believe that it is beneficial ; certainly all 

 farm stock are particularly fond of salt in 

 their food, which, indeed, in our opinion, 

 should always contain it. On the other 



hand, the fact should not be overlooked, that 

 salt is remarkably liable to atmospheric in- 

 fluences, and takes up moisture very rapidly, 

 so that if salt, at all events too much of it, is 

 placed in the stack, and especially if ventila- 

 ting appliances be used, the moisture which 

 the salt, so to say, attracts will bring about 

 the very condition of the hay which it is so 

 desirous to avoid, and to amend which, in 

 some measure, the salt is primarily added. 

 Hence, in the practice of some, it is 

 considered the soundest way to put up 

 the hay in the stack in the best con- 

 dition possible, leaving such condimental 

 additions to be made to it as may be desired 

 at the time when it is given to the animals. 

 But the question of what should be those 

 condimental substances, and Avhat are their 

 effects upon the animals partaking of them, 

 is by far too important a matter to be dis- 

 cussed at the end of a paper like the present, 

 which after all is only indirectly connected 

 with it, and which, therefore, for the present 

 we put aside, to be taken up and discussed 

 in a more appropriate paper, and at a more 

 convenient period. There is much to be 

 said on the subject, and, as the result of some 

 little practical observation, we may perhaps be 

 able to say something which has not been 

 said before, or, if already said, worthy of being 

 said again. 



RAPE AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR THE TURNIP CROP. 



IT is now absolutely certain that even 

 should we have soon a sufficient fall of 

 rain to moisten the parched ground thoroughly, 

 the turnip seed, which is as yet lying dormant, 

 will do little towards producing a crop equal 

 to the demands made upon it. At present, 

 the appearance of the turnip fields is ex- 

 tremely irregular. In some cases the plants 

 look wonderfully well ; in others the seed has 

 not started equally, and the plants have come 

 up in patches ; while in what we fear is the 

 majority of instances, the fields present the 

 same appearance which they did when the 



seed was sown, scarcely the vestige of a 

 turnip plant being discernible. Even those 

 fields which have hitherto been the most pro- 

 mising, must speedily suffer should drought 

 continue, as the plants will become' mildewed, 

 and stop in their growth from lack of moisture. 

 With many it has become, therefore, a serious 

 question, what is to be done to provide keep 

 during winter and early spring for the stock 

 which must be retained on their farms. No one, 

 under present circumstances, will venture to 

 increase the number of their stock by purchas- 

 ing, unless they have unusual resources for 



