230 



THE GENESEE FARMER 



July 23, I83T 



tion of causes, that we can infer its remark 

 oble effects on vegetation. It is said it ope 

 rates equally well on exhausted soils. Is 

 this the fact, where there is no latent princi- 

 ple to be excited into action? This per 

 haps may admit of a doubt. But if correct 

 could it not be accounted for, by the radi- 

 cles of the plants being supplied with more 

 moisture, and their own absorbent powers 

 increased by the operation of the plaster? 



As experiments, of a frequent application 

 of small quantities of plaster, are not attend 

 ed with much expense, they will best direct 

 the farmer in its use. It may be important, 

 however, to observe that the nature of its 

 supposed operation, requires that it should 

 be placed near the surface of the soil ; and 

 that it should be applied before tbe spring 

 rains are over ; or no benefit will be receiv- 

 ed from it, the first year, as a solution of 

 the plaster is necessary, and 500 times its 

 weight of water are required to effect it. It 

 is used in the quantities of 3 to 8 bushels an 

 acre. Small quantities repeated arc said 

 ro be better than the same amount applied at 

 once. 



Salt is an article which has not been much 

 used as a manure in this state, and probably 

 will not be. If it be a useful food to plants, 

 it is too expensive to be extensively applied. 

 Sir John Pringle has said that in small 

 quantities it possesses sceptic powers. If 

 so, the quantity must be extreinely small, 

 as in my experiments above mentioned 

 one half of a grain of salt was sufiicent to 

 retard decomposition in one hundred grains 

 of meat. It is an absorbent of moisture and 

 all vegetable manures are improved by be- 

 ing impregnated with it. The farmer may 

 therefore take this into account, in the use 

 of it, to preserve his hay, and benefit his cat- 

 tle. 



In the application of manure, the farmer 

 will first determine the specific qualities, 

 which his different fields require. If the 

 soil of cither be cold and heavy, he will car- 

 ry to this his coarse and warm manure, 

 such as horse dung, and that which con- 

 tains the most straw, or unfermented mat- 

 ter: on the contrary if sandy or gravelly 

 and dry, he will reserve for this his hog ma- 

 nure, and such as is most fermented ; but if 

 Jus land is uniformly moist and warm, he 

 will mix the several kinds of manure before 

 the application, as has been before directed. 

 It is of no small consequence, that when 

 manure is put into the hill or spread on the 

 field, to be covered without delay, that the 

 soil may retain its moisture and nutritious 

 passes. 



HAY MAKING. 



The first thing to be considered about hay- 

 making, is the time of cutting the grass. It 

 ihould not be cut too early, or before it has 

 <;ot its growth, for this will cause it to shrink 

 , too much in drying. On the contrary, it 

 . should not stand too late, or till the seed be 

 quite ripe. It is not only harder to cut, but 

 • the ripeness of the seed will cause it to shat- 

 ter out while drying, which will be a con- 

 siderable loss, as the seed is the most rich 

 nud nourishing part; and the soil will be 

 the more exhausted by nourishing the seed 

 til! it come to maturity, and the next succee- 

 ding crop will be poorer. There never can 

 tie any advantage in mowing late, unless in 

 thickening the grass roots, by scattering 

 some of the seed, where they were before too 

 thin. He that mows early has the advan- 



tage of longer days for drying his hay ; and 

 of shorter nights, when the dews are less 

 detrimental to hay-making. 



But the farmer who has many acres of 

 the same kind of grass cannot always ex- 

 pect to cut the whole of it in exactly the 

 right season. That he may approach as 

 near to right as possible, he should cut the 

 thickest grass first ol all; especially if it be 

 in danger of lodging, or so thick that the 

 lowest leaves perish, or the bottoms of the 

 stalks turn yellow. The thinnest of his 

 grass should be cut next, which is apt to be 

 ripe soonest: and last of all the middling 

 sized grass, or that which is on a medium 

 between thick and thin. 



Where a second crop is expected the same 

 year, thick grass should be cut a little the 

 earlier, that the roots may not be injured 

 so much as to prevent their speedy recove- 

 ry, by being closely covered too long by the 

 first crop. 



Some regard should be had to the weath- 

 er, when the time of cutting is in contem- 

 plation. Those, especially, should regard 

 it, who are able to call in as much assist- 

 ance as they please in hay-making. 



Grass, which has not been washed by rain 

 for several days, has a kind of gum on it, 

 which is known by its adhering to thescythe. 

 This gum is thought to be a benefit to the 

 hay; and the farmers are fond of mowing 

 their grass when this gum appears, rather 

 than just after the grass has been washed by 

 rain. 



As to the drying of hay, or the manner of 

 making it, I know there are a variety of o- 

 pinions. The right way is to do it in such 

 a manner that as much of the sap as possi- 

 ble may be retained, and in the best state 

 that is possible. In this I should think all 

 would agree. All persons will allow that 

 too much drying is hurtful. It is certainly 

 a loss to rake it, or stir it all, when it is so 

 dry that the leaves will crumble. And doubt- 

 less as much of the sap should be retained 

 as is consistent with its being kept in good 

 order for fodder, and for long keeping. 



Some grasses will do well with less dry- 

 ing than is needful for others. The Rhode- 

 Isiand bent, as it is called, or red-top grass, 

 will do with less drying than some other gras- 

 ses. It has been much practised to put up 

 with so little dryness that it heats in the mow 

 to so great a degree, as tomakeit turn brow n 

 like tobacco; audit is known that cattle 

 will eat it well, and thrive on it. But the 

 mow will certainly send out part of the vir- 

 tue of the hay in steams. I cannot but 

 think that all grasses should be so much dri- 

 ed, that the mows and stacks though they 

 have a degree of heat, should not emit any 

 sensible steam ; and I would not wish to 

 have hay made brown by mow-burning. It 

 surely does not appear to so good advantage 

 at market. 



Were it not for the labor and cost, a good 

 way of hay-making would be, for the hay- 

 makers to follow at the heels of the mowers, 

 at least, as soon as the dew is off, and spread 

 the swarths evenly ; turn the grass about the 

 middle of the same day; make it up into 

 cocks before night ; open the hay and turn 

 it the next day ; and so on till it be sufficient- 

 ly dried, doubling the cocks if signs of rain 

 appear. It will not commonly take more 

 than two or three days to dry it, unless it be 

 very green, or uncommonly thick and rank. 

 A person who has but little hay to make, 

 need not be much blamed, if he do it in this 



way ; especially if the weather do not appear 

 to be settled. 



The practice of the best English, Flem- 

 ish, and French farmers, is to expose the 

 hay as little as possible to the snn. It is car- 

 ried in dry, but it preserves its green color ; 

 and you see hay two or three years old in 

 their market, of so bright a green color, that 

 we would scarcely conceive it to be cured.— 

 Yet they are in the practice of preserving it 

 for years, and value it more for its age. If 

 such a course be best in climates so cool an<! 

 cloudy how much more important would it 

 be under our scorching summer suns? 



But if the weather be unsettled, or if 

 showers be frequent, it may be better to 

 spread grass well, as soon as it is mowed, stir 

 it often, cock it the same day it is mowed, 

 open it in the next fair day when the dew rs 

 off, let it sweat a little in cock, and house it 

 as soon as it is dry enough. It will bear to 

 be laid greener on a scaffold, than in aground 

 mow; and in a narrow mow greener than in 

 a broad one. And that which is at least of 

 all made, should be put upon a scaffold.— 

 Deane. 



From the New-England Farmer. 



WEANING LAMBS, fcc. 



The weaning of lambs should be effectec' 

 about this time, or when the lambs are from 

 six weeks to two months old. At this age 

 they should be taken from the ewes, and have 

 the best of pasture during the first fortnight ; 

 by the end of which time they will be so 

 accustomed to living on grass that they may 

 be turned into poorer pasture. It is impor- 

 tant that the Iambs when weaning should 

 have a good bite of fresh grass, otherwise 

 their growth will receive a check which no 

 subsequent management can overcome- 

 Where they have grazed with their dams so 

 long as five or six weeks little hindrance to 

 their growth will be sustained by the separa- 

 tion. The ewes should be removed to such dis 

 tant pastures or other places as that their blea- 

 ting may not be heard by the lambs. There 

 is however, one caution to be attended to in 

 turning lambs into a rich pasture, which is to 

 let them be in some degree satisfied with food 

 previously, that they may not be surfeited or 

 hoven or swollen. Should this disorder oc- 

 cur the distempered animals should be trea- 

 ted as directed, page 934 of our current vol- 

 ume. On weaning the lambs, it may be ne- 

 cessary to milk their dams several times, in 

 order to relieve their udders, which other- 

 wise sometimes become swollen and painful. 



The worst wooled lambs, bad colored ones 

 and those that are very small, should be 

 made over to the butcher, and need not be 

 weaned. It is recommended, however, not to 

 kill or sell, for killing any lambs till they 

 are about six months old, at which time their 

 fleece becomes valuable. 



"Those ewe lambs, which are intended for 

 stock," according to Deane, "should not 

 come at the rams. For if they have lambs 

 at a year old, it stints them in their growth ; 

 and they have so little milk that their lambs 

 commonly die for want of nourishment. Or 

 if they chance to live, they will be apt to be 

 always small. This practice is one reason 

 why our breed of sheep in this country is so 

 poor. 



" The largest lambs should be sheared at 

 the time of the new moon in July. Their 

 fleeces will yield as much the next year, and 

 the wool will be better ; and as cold storms 

 rarely happen at that time of the year, the 



