THE GENESEE FAKMER. 



33? 



One evening, the Hon. Josiah Quinot gave an 

 able address on soiling cattle, in the course of 



which he said : " Fifty years ago, my farm cut 20 

 tons of hay ; it now cuts 300. This is due to the 

 soiling system. The manure of a cow is of equal 

 Tftlue to her milk. One cow will produce, in a year, 

 !>-^ cords of solid, and the same of liquid, manure. 

 I'liis, composted with twice its amount of muck, 

 wiiuld increase the amount to 21 cords — equal in 

 vahie to the same amount of barn-yard manure. 



Mr. J. S. Gould, of Columbia Co., gave an ad- 

 dress, cme evening, on the subject of the cultivation 

 of grasses ; in which he said : " In seeding down 

 meadows, the rule should be to sow a variety of 

 seeds, and such as come into flower nearly at the 

 same time. Harrowing in grass seed is destructive 

 to the orop. If possible, grass seed should be 

 sown before rain, and leave that to make the neces- 

 sary covering. Lime, as an application to land, 

 would be improved by slaking it in water consid- 

 ■yrably salt." Mr. McCoun^ of Long Island, said : 

 " We sow eight quarts of timothy seed to the acre 

 ou wheat, and leave the land in grass for several 

 years, top-dressing it with 150 pounds to the acre 

 of Peruvian guano." 



T. C. Petees alluded to the meadows of Mr. 

 Thorne, of Dutchess Co., which, he said, owed 

 their productiveness to their not being fed off in 

 autumn. 



The farmers of Illinois also held discussions 

 during the tune of the State Fair at Freeport, and 

 afterwards at the United States Fair, at Chicago. 



Plowing and drainage were the subjects on the 

 first two evenings. The general opinion was that 

 the prairie lands were not plowed deep enough, and 

 that the use of mole ditchers was of most benefit 

 Ki teoacious soils, and that it would pay to drain 

 with the mole plow until tiles became cheaper. 



At Chicago, the discussion turned on the subject 

 of fruit culture. M. L. Dunlap advised planting 

 orchards in Northern Illinois on a northern or 

 eastern slope. He preferred the limestone shales, 

 and would not plant on the dark prairie mould, 

 lie considered it necessary to shelter the fruit trees 

 by a belt of timber on the north, south and west. 

 For this purpose deciduous trees are best. Mr. 

 RosENSTiEL said a tree wanted nursing from its 

 infancy, as much as a child, and needs educating 

 (training) too. Mr. Mills had no faith in protect- 

 ing trees ; thought those protected had suffered 

 from the hard winters quite as much as those left 

 exposed. Mr. W. "W. Beebk thought that tlie trees 

 wexe not planted deep enough. He subsoiled his 

 ground before planting. He said: Do not plant 



more trees than can he well taken care of. Dr. 

 Warder believed in protection. The best orchard? 

 are on elevated and well-drained soils. Sandstone 

 soils are best for the peach. Cultivate the orchard 

 well, but do not plow it after the 1st of June. 

 Lime, manure and good cultivation, he considered 

 the best preventive of the bitter rot. 



CUTTING HAY FOR STOCK 



Some years ago, a correspondent of the Masm- 

 chu^eits Ploughman, Tnos. W. Ward, made some 

 experiments in regard to the economy of cuttisig 

 hay and corn fodder for horses and cattle. Tb« 

 result was in every way satisfactory. One effect 

 of cutting fodder, brought t© light by these experi- 

 ments, we have never seen alluded to before. The 

 solid excrements of the animals, in proportion to 

 the food eaten, were much heavier from the cot 

 than from the uncut fodder. In other words, they 

 absorbed more liquid. This is an important fact. 

 The great loss in keeping manure in the barn-yara 

 is from drainage; and it is quite reasonable that 

 cut fodder would absorb more liquid than uncut. 

 In England it has been recommended, and is to 

 some extent the practice, to cut all the litter as 

 well as the fodder. The manure is shorter, and is 

 sooner ready for the land, and can be spread and 

 plowed under more easily; and undoubtedly ab 

 sorbs more liquid. 



Mr. W. says his experiments "show a saving of 

 about eighteen per cent, in favor of cut hay, and 

 also an increase in weight of excrement of fifteen 

 per cent." "Thus," says Mr. W., "we spend less 

 hay and make more manure, which is the farmer's 

 capital." He says, in conclusion, he will " not at- 

 tempt to solve the mystery in regard to least hay 

 making most manure." There is no "mystery" 

 about it. It is due, undoubtedly, to the increased 

 capacity of the cut straw to absorb liquid rapidly. 



Another advantage in cutting fodder for stock h 

 that coarser and more unpalatable food can be used. 

 A horse that would eat straw only when compelled 

 by keen hunger, will eat it readily if cut up and 

 mixed with a little corn meal; and the mixture 

 will be quite as nutritious as hay, and less expen- 

 sive. In some sections, one of the cheapest meth- 

 ods of wintering horses is to cut up oats in the 

 straw, and mix them with a liitle bran ; or, if the 

 horses are at hard work, with a little corn meal. 



The hay crop is so short this year, in many see- 

 tions, that it behooves our farmers to use the most 

 economical methods of feeding their stock; and 

 cutting up the straw, corn stalks, and hay, will be 

 more than usually advantageons. 



