354: HOESE POKTKAITURE. 



and twisted themselves into rapid evolutions ; now shoot- 

 ing upward far, far into the lurid sky ; now throwing 

 themselves forward till the whole level prairie was ab- 

 sorbed, and burst at once into a tumultuous naming sea. 

 Looking from my elevated situation, the valley appeared 

 as if transformed into a molten, seething lake, hemmed in 

 with red-hot walls, so that the tormented spirits could not 

 escape. 



Burning this hay is not the way to acquaint you with 

 its value for forage. Much diversity of opinion prevails 

 in reference to its qualities, and while some of the Western 

 trainers will not use it, there are others who think it the 

 only kind suitable for horses that work fast. These last 

 will point triumph antly to the fact that when prairie hay 

 only was used, heaves were unknown in the Western 

 country, and that with the advent of Timothy meadows, 

 required by the settlement of the country, this distressing 

 malady also made its appearance. There is no question 

 of the truth of this assertion. When I first went to Iowa 

 the disease was totally unknown, and the absence of it 

 ascribed to a variety of causes. But the prevalence of this 

 affection of the lungs in the same locality now, where the 

 only change has been the substitution of cultivated for the 

 prairie grasses, certainly proves where the cause exists. 

 Notwithstanding this, I do not like it as well as Timothy, 

 the liability of which to injure the lungs would be done 

 away with, if proper care were taken in the cutting, 

 curing, and preserving. 



Thick seeding, as you remarked is very necessary to 

 obtain good hay, not only by causing a finer growth of the 

 stalk and an increase of the leaves, but, by getting a thick 

 sward, we also get rid of a good deal of dust. Should there 

 be patches of the grouud uncovered, the fine particles of 

 the soil become disintegrated by the beating of the rain, 

 and, adhering to the plant, are shaken off when fed, and 



