182 Feeds and Feeding. 



say. If harvesting is delayed too long, the stems of the grasses 

 are tough and stringy, and the seeds shatter from the heads. Such 

 hay has little aroma and lacks palatability, if not nutrients. 



Sanborn 1 conducted trials with early- and late- cut hay for fat- 

 tening steers, and found that the late- cut hay gave the best returns. 

 The writer, in an unpublished experiment conducted several years 

 since, reached the same result. 



261. Points in hay making. Important as is the subject of hay 

 making, there is not much of a definite character that can be writ- 

 ten concerning it. The widely varying nature of the crops to be 

 converted into hay, the dampness or dryness of the soil of the 

 meadows, the humidity of the atmosphere, and the intensity and 

 continuance of sunlight and heat, are all modifying factors in this 

 problem and combine to keep it one of those arts which cannot be 

 definitely discussed in books. Some points of interest and possi- 

 ble importance will be here considered. We have drawn largely 

 from Storer, 2 whose classic work on agriculture should be read 

 by all. 



262. The aroma of hay. Though an unweighable quantity, the 

 aroma of grass has real value in rendering hay more palatable. 

 When the sun dissipates the dew from the drying grass in the 

 meadow we detect the escaping aroma, because the dow in rising 

 carries some of it into the atmosphere. Here is one reason why 

 hay should not remain scattered over the meadow at night. If 

 new-mown hay lies for a time in the sunlight, the bleaching which 

 we observe indicates that chemical changes are taking place within 

 the grass stems and leaves, and such changes are not of advantage. 

 Green- colored, sweet- smelling hay is really the best, and prudent 

 stockmen in securing provender will not overlook such seemingly 

 small points as preserving the aroma and preventing bleaching. 



263. Changes during hay curing. Grass stems remain alive, in 

 a certain sense, for some time after they have been severed by the 

 mower, and the leaves while succulent and green continue to 

 exhale moisture in a natural way. If grasses whose leaves are 

 still fresh are gathered into bundles so the leaves are not at once 



1 Kept. New Hamp. Bd. Agr., 1880. 



2 Agriculture in Some of its Relations with Chemistry. 



