390 



MAKING HAY. 



^' If cut early there is a great advantage to the second crop, as 

 shown by an experiment at Hohenheim : 



"The following table, taken from Chemistry of the Farm, 

 shows the percentage composition of meadow grass cut at three 

 different dates in the same field. The first cutting will repre- 

 sent pasture grass fed off in the green state by stock ; the second 

 cutting is good ordinary hay ; the third cutting is an over-ripe 

 bay, somewhat coarse and stemmy, but well harvested. 



" These numbers speak most decidedly in favor of early cutting. 

 "When the fodder was cut tAvice, not only was the quality far bet- 

 ter, as shown by the percentage of protein, but the absolute 

 quantity both of protein and of dry matter per acre was nearly 

 one-half greater. When we take into account the greater di- 

 gestibility of tlie young hay, the gain becomes still greater. Ex- 

 periments indicate that the richest fodder and the largest yield 

 of digestible matters per acre may be obtained by cutting two 

 or more crops of comparatively young grass in a season, rather 

 than one crop of over-ripe vegetation. 



" In practice, however, the fertility of the soil, the length of the 

 season, the kind of grass, the cost of labor, etc., have to be con- 



