06 



FARMERS' REGISTER— MANAGEMENT OF HAY. 



stratum of hay should be added ; and the same 

 operations of watering and salting repeated, till 

 the whole quantity is gone through; it should then 

 be well turned and mixed with a ibrk, and allowed 

 to remain in a heap for one niglit; alter which, it 

 •will be fit for use. 



It is necessary to observe, that the quantity of 

 water applied should never exceed what is neces- 

 sary to damp the hay; and the proportion of salt 

 should be confined to what will give it an agreea- 

 ble flavor : a superabundance of either, in place of 

 being useful, defeats the purpose for which they 

 are applied. If there is too much water, it runs 

 off, carrying the salt along with it ; if too much 

 salt, it renders the hay bitter. The salt made use 

 of should be of the smallest kind, lor the purpose 

 of sprinkling it equally ; and every possible means 

 should be taken to prevent one part of the hay from 

 getting more than anotlier. 



It is worthy of notice, that though the salting 

 of hay a day or two before it is used, is in general 

 attended with advantages, we beg leave to be un- 

 derstood as meaning only the coarsest kinds, or 

 such as may have been injured by the weather ; 

 for, in every instance where it has been cut at the 

 proper season, and well managed afterwards, the 

 taste and flavor will be such as to recommend it 

 to the animals, w ithout any addition whatever; but 

 in unfavorable years, when the quality is much 

 impaired by the weather, especially if the hay is 

 coarse, and treated in the manner commonly prac- 

 tised in the hilly and upland parts of the country, 

 the operation of watering, Avith the addition of salt, 

 will, by softening and giving it an agreeable taste, 

 induce the animals to eat it with advantage, in 

 many instances when it would otherwise be re- 

 jected. It is perhaps in such cases only, that salt 

 can be useful, unless it be meant as a medicine; 

 and it is very apparent, that the hint of using salt 

 at all, originated in the preference given to salt 

 marshes over other pastures, by both sheep and 

 cattle. 



In treating of an article of such value and im- 

 portance as hay, it is worth while to inquire, what 

 are the most advantageous and economical modes 

 of using it. 



Every good farmer is now sensible, that when 

 any considerable quantity either of hay or other 

 fodder is given to horses, sheep, or cattle, at once, 

 the effect of their breath blowing upon it, joined 

 to other causes, renders it so disagreeable, that 

 they soon loath and refuse to eat it ; in that way 

 a considerable part of it is lost. On the contrary, 

 when it is given frequently, and in small quantity, 

 it contracts no disagreeable smell, and the animals 

 eat up the whole. Farmers of a certain descrip- 

 tion will no doubt object to tliis mode of feeding, 

 on account of the trouble with which it is attend- 

 ed. With them, it is a maxim, that if the ani- 

 mals are fed once, or at most twice, in the twenty 

 four hours, it is sutficient ; and that if they are 

 hungry, they run no risk of starving, while they 

 have food so near them. They do not, however, 

 reflect upon the injury which the fodder thus used 

 sustains by being breathed and trod upon, and im- 

 pregnated Avith dung and urine. Let such men 

 consider, for a moment, how they would relish the 

 remains of their diimer served up for supper, after 

 being kept within a yard of their nose during the 

 interval, upon the same plates, with the same 

 knives and forks, without any washing or clean- 



ing. There are few people, indeed, who would 

 not nauseate and reject such a meal. 



The case cannot be very ditTerent with any of 

 our domestic animals, when they have a quantity 

 of hay or other fodder given them, sufficient for a 

 whole day's consumption; having it constantly in 

 their sight, and being blown and trod upon, im- 

 pregnated with urine and otherwise injured, it be- 

 comes loathsome beyond description ; and, in place 

 of being eat up, which it always is when small 

 quantities are given at a time, and frequently re- 

 peated, a great part is rejected. It ought therefore 

 to be a rule with all farmers, to give little at a 

 time, and repeat it i'requently, always taking care 

 that what was last given shall be consumed, before 

 they receive an additional supply. By such man- 

 agement, no part of the fodder will be lost, and the 

 animals will at the same time derive more benefit 

 from the use of it. 



Another economical practice remains to be men- 

 tioned, namely, the mixing of straw with hay. 

 From many trials in different parts of the country, 

 it appears, that where good straw can be had in 

 plenty, it may be mixed with hay to great advan- 

 tage. Some farmers are in the habit of mixing 

 straw with cutting grass, the benefit of which will 

 be afterwards noticed. When straw is mixed with 

 hay, the process of curing maybe accelerated, and 

 the quality of the hay at the same time improved, 

 by leading out the straw to the field, mixing it 

 intimately with the hay immediately after it is 

 cut, and putting the whole into small hand-cocks, 

 as soon as it is mixed. It is well known, that 

 when moist and dry bodies are brought into con- 

 tact, the former begin to give out a part of their 

 moisture, which is as greedily absorbed by the 

 latter, and continues to be so till a balance is esta- 

 blished between them; or, in other Avords, till both 

 contain an equal proportion of humidity. This is 

 precisely Avhat happens Avhen dry straAv is mixed 

 Avith gi'een herbage. Immediately after they are 

 laid together, the straAv begins to absorb a part of 

 the juices, and continues to do so as long as the 

 grass Avill part Avith any. In that Avay, every part 

 of the natural juices is effectually preserved ; and 

 the straAV, from the absorption of AA^hat Avould 

 otherAvise have been cither evaporated by the sun, 

 or Avashed aAvay by the rain, is rendered nearly 

 equal in A^alue to the hay. Where this practice is 

 followed, and due pains taken in the mixing, very 

 little exposure to the sun or atmosphere is neces- 

 sary, and the hay Avill be fit for putting into the 

 stack in half the time that is required Avhere no 

 straAV is used. 



In place of leading out the straAV to the field, it 

 is customary, in some parts of the country, to mix 

 it Avith the hay in the stack, by laying alternate 

 stratums of each, a practice that ansAvers pretty 

 Avell, but is much inferior to that above recom- 

 mended. It may, hoAvever, be very useful in un- 

 favorable seasons, and be the means of preserving 

 hay that could not be cured otherAvise. 



When straAV is mixed Avith grass for present 

 use, a quantity sutficient for several days consump- 

 tion should be cut at once, and after mixing, laid 

 up in pretty large heaps, and alloAved to remain in 

 that state for a couple of days at least ; at the end 

 of Avhich, the straAV will be found much softened 

 and impregnated Avith the juices of the grass. 

 When a fair trial is given to this practice, several 

 advantages Avill be found to arise from it. The 



