AMERICAN INSTITUTE. 109 



Solon Robinson. — The Mr. Gaboon, spoken of in connection with rhu- 

 barb plants, has made more out of a seedling than any farmer in Wiscon- 

 sin. Mr. Fuller said, "Ye? — for I knew him when he was poor; and he 

 sold half of his garden for $10,000, beside all else that he has made out of 

 a seedling rhubarb plant," 



THE BEST TIME TO CUT^ GRASS FOR HAY. 



This question having been proposed bj Solon Robinson, the chairman 

 called upon him to give his views. He replied, that instead of that, he 

 would read a letter from L. W. Saunders, of Milan, Ohio, which is not far 

 from Sandusky, upon this question. It was written to the " Tribune," and 

 reads as follows : 



In your paper of the 22d, you say that the best time to cut hay should 

 be authoritively settled, and not left to mere assertion. Now, every farmer 

 will have his own opinion, and most of them will follow that opinion, re- 

 gardless of what others may write or say. I have had some experience, 

 having cut from 60 to 125 tons of hay, every year, for the past ten years. 

 My experience has been, that timothy grass, for hay, should be cut as soon 

 as it is out of blossom ; then, if well cured and salted, horses or cattle will 

 eat it up clean, and such hay appears to have more heart in it than that cut 

 at any other time. I always save such for my heavy spring work, and my 

 horses will do the same work, with less grain, and keep in equally good, if 

 not better, condition than if cut later. If cut earlier, i. e., while the blos- 

 som is on, hay will be dusty, and horses will not do the same amount of 

 work on it. My rule is, as soon as the last blossom is oif, to commence 

 cutting, and, as far as circumstances will admit, to take up in the afternoon 

 what IS cut in the forenoon. (If you wish to have good hay, never leave it 

 exposed to the dew while spread out.) Whon put in the barn, or stack, I 

 put about four to five quarts of salt to the ton on it, sprinkled as even as 

 may be. And, another thing — I never cock up hay and leave it till Friday 

 or Saturday to haul in ; but whenever a load of hay is cured, it is hauled 

 to the barn, or stacked. By following this course, I have very rarely lost 

 any hay by getting wet, and I never yet learned that I lost time, though 

 I know I saved hay by it. After I commence, I follow up my haying as 

 fast as possible ; in a good season, having it all safe in about ten days ; in 

 a bad one, part of it may get ripe, though such hay is always inferior. 



Where hay is cut with a scythe, it is usually spread, as it is termed, but 

 that is not the best way. If any farmer who is in that habit, will let the 

 grass be in the swath till it is cured on top, and then turn it over by run- 

 ning the handle of a pitchfork or rake full length under one edge and then 

 raising, he will find he can do it full as fast, and make a great deal better 

 hay. 



In regard to stacking, I think three or four ton stacks the best size, but 

 would rather build a two-ton stack than have a load of hay stand out over 

 night, if it was cured. By building larger stacks, persons frequently have 

 to wait two or three days to get hay enough to build it ; in the mean time a 



