1836.] 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



281 



hard and slicky; and the plant is so much exhaust- 

 ed that it takes a long time before it sends up new 

 shoot?." I 



With respect to curinghay, il is important to put 

 it into the barn in as green a state as will possibly 

 do and a\-oid i(s heating and becoming mouldy. 

 In this way it best retains its succulence and flavor; 

 and the nearer in both these respects it apfiroach- 

 esto grass in its green state, so much better is it 

 relished by all kinds of stock, and so much the 

 more nutritious it undoubtedly is. The best farm- 

 ers, on the ('onnecticut river, and where they are 

 extensively engaged in the ft:eding of cattle, liave 

 within a i'ew years been accustomed to put their 

 hay in the barn in a very green state and after a 

 slight making. They deem it of the first impor- 

 tance that it should have no foreign dampness ad- 

 hering to it eitiier of dew or rain; but they do not 

 object to its heating slightly in the mow from the 

 fermentation of its natural juices. They are of an 

 opinion that this even renders it the more palata- 

 ble for the cattle; but wetness cither of dew or 

 rain is altogether injurious to its quality : produces 

 sourness, and mould, and renders il innutritions, 

 unfit for the use of cattle, and extremely perni- 

 cious to horses. The English farmers think their 

 hay is belter for a slight heat in the slack. 



Two things in the curing of hay are to be par- 

 ticularly attended to. The first is to secure itTrom 

 wet. The effect of wet upon hay is like the effect 

 of water upon tea to extract all its strength and 

 flavor. For this reason the practise of some farm- 

 ers of mowmg in the rain by way of saving time, 

 and sulTering the hay to remain wet and entirely 

 saturated with water in the swath, under the im- 

 pression that it would suffer no injury though it 

 should remain so twenty four hours, proceeds on ve- 

 ry erroneous opinions; and is to be strongly con- 

 demned. The practice like\vise of cutting grass 

 when a heavy dew is upon it, is, on the same 

 grounds to be disapprov(?d, excepting that in this 

 case that it is verj' soon stirred and shaken. We 

 should prefer, excepting that we might sometimes 

 find that it compelled us to the loss of too much 

 time, never to have a swath mowed but when the 

 grass and ground are perfectly dry. The grass is 

 not mowed so easily when dry as when wet. It 

 requires more strength and the edge of the scythe 

 sutlers more; but the grass, which is cut when 

 perfectly dry and the ground under it likewise be- 

 ing pertecdy dry and warm, is made with so much 

 more quickness and ease, that this consideration, 

 which will go fiir to balance the supposed or actual 

 advantages in the other case. 



The second important point is to avoid getting 

 the hay too dry, and stirring il so much as to shake 

 off' the leaves. These constitute the most palata- 

 ble and nutritious part of the hay; and this is par- 

 ticularly likely to happen in respect to clover, which 

 if very much dried and shaken becomes little bet- 

 ter than so many sticks. Clover can be well cur- 

 ed in cocks, without any turning, but that of re- 

 versing the heaps. — This method lias been often 

 tried and with entire success. Salt is always to be 

 applied in these cases at the rate of a peck to a 

 load; and to all English hay the addition of salt to 

 the amount at least of four quarts to the load is al- 

 ways to be recommended. 



Spreading out, as it is termed, is an operation 

 that should be done by a most careful hand. Clo- 

 ver hardly admits of "this when green, and, if al- 



VoL. IV— 36 



tempted when dry, the best parts of the hay are 

 sure to be shaken off. Other kinds of hay howev- 

 er, cannot afier mowing, be too carefully o|)encd 

 and too evenly s|M-ead; not a matted hundlijl 

 should be left that is not thoroughly separated and 

 shook out. Hay at night, if it can be done, should 

 never be left in swath or in windrow; but put up at 

 first in small cocks and afterwards made with no 

 more shaking about and spreading than is abso- 

 lutely necessary to dry it. We have already ex- 

 tended this article beyond our intentions and yet 

 have not exhausted it. We commend it to our 

 brother farmers, not presuming that we. can instruct 

 them; but hoping that we may at least draw their 

 attention to a subject of great importance in hus- 

 bandry; but which we think has by no means as 

 yet received sufficient consideration and care. 



H. C. 



LKGISLATIVE ACTION REQUIRED TO AID 

 AGRICUT.TURE. 



No. I. 



Agricultural Professorship. 

 To the Editor of ttie Fanners' Register. 



y/irficld, Juhj, 1836. 



Sir: The devotion of your useful journal to "'the 

 improvement of the Practice and support of the 

 Interests of Agriculture" has been beneficially felt 

 throughout the State. The improvem.ent of the 

 practice embraces an extensive and diversified field; 

 but the interests of agriculture are, perhaps, more 

 ramified; since they are, either directly, or indi- 

 rectly, connected with almost alt the other interests 

 of society. Is not agriculture the nursing mother 

 of them all? And have not her interests been, not 

 only too long neglected, but wantonly oppressed, for 

 the benefit of others? 



May I not ask, what practical, beneficial, and 

 separate measure has our Legislature ever adopted, 

 to promote these interests? At the last session 

 they were asked by an Agricultural Convention, to 

 make a beginning — 1. To appoint a Board of Agri- 

 culture for the purpose of superintending and sup- 

 |)orting these interests and recommending subjects 

 tor legislative action — 2. To estabhsh a professor- 

 ship of agriculture in the Universitj^, in accordance 

 with its original design, and the intention of the 

 ibunders of the Literary Fund — or, 3. To defray 

 the expense of an agricultural tour through the 

 Union, for the purpose of inspecting and embody- 

 ing the most profitable and economical practices, 

 pursued by the best husbandmen in other States; 

 to be laid betbre our people lor their information. 

 Only one of these measures was asked tor at that 

 session; and it was hoped, that, at any rate, the 

 least objectionable of them would have been adopt- 

 ed. Your readers who take a lively interest in 

 j this subject know with what indifference the me- 

 j niorial was treated. One of the persons designat- 

 I ed to sustain the memorial before the "Committee 

 i on Agriculture," did not wait on that committee, 

 i because he had privately understood that nothing 

 I would be done, and knew, from long experience, 

 the futility of attempting to overturn settled preju- 

 dices. 



It has been thought (whether justly or not I do 



not say,) that this result was mainly attributable 



j to a jealousy of the University j as it was appre- 



i bended that any action on either of the alternative 



