RYE. 287 



RYE. 



THIS crop is more extensively grown in the Eastern and Middle States than in any 

 other section of the country. It is very hardy and more easily cultivated than any 

 of the other smaller grains, unless it be oats; however, it will thrive where oats will 

 not, requiring less fertility, a sandy soil and cold climate being best adapted to it. It is often 

 produced in the &quot;Western States on fields that have become partially exhausted from the con 

 stant cropping of wheat, large crops being obtained on lands that would utterly fail in the 

 wheat crop in time of harvest. When we take into consideration the cheapness with which 

 rye can be produced, and its various uses, we shall find that there is scarcely any grain that 

 yields so large a return for what is expended. Besides its various uses as grain, the straw is 

 valuable for many purposes, such as for cut-feed for either horses, cows, or any other stock, 

 which are all fond of it, and it is often raised for this purpose principally, and cut while in 

 the blossom. It is soft, clean, and free from dust, and quite nutritious when cut in the blos 

 soming period of its growth, is rarely injured by extreme cold winters, and grows so quickly 

 in the spring that drouth rarely affects it; it is valuable to supplement the hay crop in case 

 the latter is for any reason short. There is nothing so cheap and convenient for use on the 

 farm, such as for bands to tie corn-shocks and bind fodder, etc., and will bring as high a 

 price in many markets as the grain or the best timothy hay. It is also used in the manufac 

 ture of paper. 



Eye is valuable for soiling, producing forage late in autumn and early in the spring; for 

 this purpose it should be sown at the rate of from three to four bushels per acre, to produce 

 a heavy growth; when not too closely fed, and on good soil, it will often produce a crop of 

 grain also. Such feed is very valuable in the spring for cows and other stock, as it comes on 

 early when they need such a change after the long winter with its attendant dry fodder. A 

 small field of rye for this purpose, located at a convenient distance from the barn, will be 

 found a profitable investment to most farmers. When clover fails to catch, as it sometimes 

 will, a field of rye will be found a good substitute, since it will grow so rapidly that it will be 

 ready for pasturing stock at least two weeks earlier than clover. Some farmers sow timothy 

 seed with the rye in the fall, which will come on and produce good feed when the rye has 

 become too old for the purpose, and thus good pasturage will be secured all summer. Rye is 

 a valuable manure when plowed under lightly in the fall. 



It is also a well-known preventive of washing on rolling lands, where the soil is easily 

 gullied out by water, as its roots grow very firmly and compact, and will hold and protect the 

 young grass until a sward is formed. We have omitted to state anything concerning its 

 bread-making properties. In this respect it is second only to wheat, and when grown continu 

 ously on sandy soil especially adapted to it, will produce flour nearly as white as some brands 

 of wheat; hence, such grain has gained the name of &quot; White Rye,&quot; which is only the result 

 of culture, and not a difference in variety, for if this same seed be sown on a rich, loamy 

 soil, the flour produced will be of a darker color, and when repeated crops are produced on 

 the same soil, will finally become as dark in color as that of the original grain first used upon 

 the sandy soil. The unbolted flour has a peculiar flavor not found in that finely bolted, and 

 is much used in connection with corn-meal, in making the brown bread so commonly found 

 in New England cooking, as well as many of the other States in the eastern section of the 

 country. Many farmers use the rye-field for fall pasturage of stock, especially sheep, young 

 calves, and cows, and claim that -a benefit to the crop is attained through the trampling of 

 their hoofs and the grazing of the flocks, a more luxuriant growth in the spring being the 

 result. As we have never practiced this method of treatment, we cannot speak from expe 

 rience as to results, but would not think it safe to pasture rye except the soil were quite dry 

 and the growth unusually luxuriant and heavy, and even then only by such animals as sheep 



