198 FIELD AND GARDEN PRODUCTS 



afternoon of the second day after cutting. The use of hay caps in 

 curing clover hay should be more general. It is desirable to leave 

 the clover in the cock for a number of days, sometimes as long as a 

 week. The hay is coarse, and if exposed to rain it is badly damaged 

 unless the cocks are protected by caps. When examination shows 

 that the clover in the cock is apparently cured, it should be slightly 

 opened and turned up from the bottom on the forenoon of a good 

 day. It will then be ready to put in in the afternoon. Clover hay 

 cured in this manner should hold substantially all its leaves and 

 heads, and should cure of a bright green color. Such clover is one 

 of the most valuable forage crops, whether for cattle, sheep, or horses. 

 Well-cured clover hay, popular opinion to the contrary notwithstand- 

 ing, is a safe and valuable food for horses, which will need much less 

 grain when fed such hay than when timothy hay is used. (F. B. 

 451.) 



In making clover hay some pains must be taken to prevent 

 a serious loss. The leaves of the clover will dry much quicker than 

 the stems ; and if the hay lies spread on the ground until the stem 

 is dry, the leaves will be lost. The best plan is to rake it up just as 

 soon as it is thoroughly wilted, and put it up in not too large piles, 

 where it will cure in good weather, in from 24 to 36 hours. It is not 

 a good plan to let it stand too long before hauling it into the barn. 

 It may be a little tough, and apparently too wet to keep in the mow ; 

 but if there is no rain or dew on it, it will suffer no harm if packed 

 closely in the hay mow. Do not throw open the barn doors to let 

 in air. Keep the air away from it, and there will be no white mold 

 or musty hay when removed. The theory of throwing open the 

 barn doors to admit air to the hay has long since been exploded. 

 It is no longer practiced by modern hay makers. Some farmers salt 

 the hay in the mow. We do not, we prefer to salt the stock by hand 

 as often as desirable. (Idaho Agr. Exp. Sta. B. 33.) 



One successful method of curing hay in use by a Tennessee 

 farmer is to cut when half the blossoms are dead. The mower is 

 run the entire day; the next morning, after the dew is off, the hay 

 is raked into windrows, put into medium-sized cocks, and allowed to 

 remain for 24 to 36 hours. The hay is forked over once to prevent 

 heating and is then put in the barn. In threatening weather the hay 

 is put into the barn at the end of 24 hours, but it is preferable to leave 

 it in the field for a somewhat longer time. 



Another method which has been locally successful under favor- 

 able conditions is to mow as soon as the dew is off, endeavoring by 11 

 o'clock to have enough cut to last the haulers from 1 to 5 o'clock in 

 the afternoon. The newly cut clover is shaken up with a tedder 

 before noon; at 1 o'clock it is raked into windrows, immediately 

 bunched with the rake, and hauled into the barn. By this method 

 the hay remains warm and free from outside moisture. The hay 

 must be put in before 5 o'clock or the falling dew will deposit suffi- 

 cient moisture to cause molding in the barn. Handled in this way 

 elover loses none of its leaves ; but it is necessary to use extreme care 

 in not having any outside moisture on the hay, or heating in the 



