1908 



(il.KANINtiS IN BEK CUI.rURK. 



885 



CURING ALFALFA UNDER HAY- 

 CAPS. 



[The ^inicle which follows is copied from Hoard's Dairyman, 

 of F-'t. Atkinson, Wis., one of the best agticultiual papers of this 

 cotnitry, and the standard authority on dairying. The editor has 

 had much experience with alfalfa, and knows the value of hay- 

 caps. With hay-caps it is unnecessary to cut the hay before it is 

 ripe.— W. K. M.l 



The first crop of alfalfa is very difficult to cure. 

 The time of year when the first crop of hay is 

 made is usually moist, and the hay is invariably 

 sappy and heavy, all of which hinder the rapid 

 and proper curing of the hay. By the use of the 

 hay-cap, alfalfa can be cured better, even if the 

 weather be dry; and if it rains considerably the 

 crop can be saved, which is very apt to spoil un- 

 less protected by the hay-cap. 



We cut our alfalfa in the afternoon, and it is 

 cocked up the next day. The first night's dew 

 does not hurt it, and we want the leaves to wilt 

 before cocking. 

 They should not be 

 permitted to be- 

 come dry, for if 

 they do the hay 

 cures much slower, 

 for a large part of 

 the moisture of the 

 stems passes out 

 through the leaves 

 if not permitted to 

 dry. 



The cocks should 

 contain from 73 to 

 100 lbs. of hay, 

 and, on the aver- 

 age, it requires four 

 days to cure it after 

 it is put in the cock. 

 When cocked the 

 hay-cap is put on. 

 Of course, much 

 depends upon the 

 weather conditions. 

 The hay, while in 

 the cock, should 

 go through a sweat, 

 which helps to cure 



it and prevents it from going through the sweat 

 again in the mow. Just before the hay is to be 

 put into the mow the cock should be spread out 

 for a few hours to the sun and wind. It should 

 not be left so long that the leaves will become 

 dry and break off in handling. The cloth in the 

 cap is made from A sheeting torn into pieces 40 

 inches square, and to each corner a large washer, 

 weighing about half a pound, is tied. These 

 washers may be obtained at any hardware store. 



The weights that are attached to the corners of 

 tlie cap tend to keep the cloth tight over the hay; 

 for as the hay settles, the weights drop closer to 

 the ground. To shed the water well the cloth 

 must be kept smooth and free from wrinkles, and 

 to accomplish this the weights, when the caps are 

 put over the cocks, should be several inches from 

 the ground. This method gives the weights an 

 opportunity to pull down constantly on the four 

 corners of the cap. 



Some have recommended that pegs be attached 

 to the corners of the cap, and hook them into the 

 hay to hold the cap over the cock. This system 



would be all right if the cock of hay did not set- 

 tle; but since the hay through settling would 

 soon pull away from the cap, enough to loosen 

 it materially and cause more or less pockets and 

 folds in the covering, we do not recommend this 

 method. 



It might be added that the hay-cap serves equal- 

 ly well in the curing of clover hay. The advan- 

 tage of the hay-cap is not only valuable in pro- 

 tecting the hay from rain but from the sun as 

 well. The hay can be put up into cocks when it 

 is green, and cured in the shade, which is better 

 than drying it out in the sun. Hay cured this 

 way is more palatable, and retains more of the 

 leaves, because they do not become brittle_,and 

 break off. The leaves of the hay are the most 

 valuable part of it, and any system that tends to 

 cure them properly, and prevent losing them in 

 the field, is, in our estimation, worth practic- 

 ing. 



CLOVER IN COCKS AN COVERED WITH HAY-CAPS, ON THE FARM OF M. T. 

 WRIGHT, WISCONSIN. 



A SIMPLE, PORTABLE TAKE-DOWN 

 BEE-HOUSE OR SHOP. 



BY E. F. ATWATER. 



We have had too much experience with the 

 system, if such it may be called, of hauling a tent 

 and outfit to the out-apiaries. We have gradual- 

 ly abandoned that plan, as we are fully convinced 

 that it is much more economical, and pleasant for 

 all concerned, to have a building and the few 

 necessary tools at each yard. When we began 

 building shops for the out-yards we adopted the 

 plan of the Townsend take-down houses, as de- 

 scribed in Gleanings some time ago. 



There area few faults in the plan of the Town- 

 send houses. First, they should be built higher, 

 as more storage room for supers is cheaply added 

 by making the building only two or three feet 

 higher. The second fault is that the sills, etc., 

 project inivard, so as to interfere with piling su- 

 pers closely against the wall. After building 

 two Townsend shops we found that we needed 



