Lucerne Hay 



(BY R. RICHARLS, PAYVILLE.) 



'T'lIE chief object in writing these notes is to give growers of 

 lucerne some idea of the difference between lucerne hay and 

 <lri>d lucerne, in order that they may appreciate the difference 

 in the quality, which is very essential. 



It is universally admitted that lucerne is the most valuable 

 food we have for horses, sheep, cattle, ostriches, etc., but if we are 

 to take full advantage of the fact, we must be able to store quanti- 

 ties of this valuable fodder as an insurance against the terrible 

 periods of drought by which this country is afflicted. In a word, 

 we must convert our surplus lucerne into hay, and not merely into 

 dried lucerne, which deteriorates by keeping. I wish to distin- 

 guish very clearly between the two articles. There has been, and 

 indeed still is, a confusion of terms ; the word ''hay 1 ' as applied to 

 dry lucerne is a misnomer. Properly cured hay does not deteriorate 

 with keeping; the dried article dees. When growers become bet- 

 ter acquainted with the former, they will prefer it t:> -the latter. 

 It has come to stay, and is destined to make .sheep farming a suc- 

 ctess even during the most severe dry spells. Lucerne is of more 

 value to the country than all the diamond mines, in that it becomes 

 the personal asset of the man who plants it ; he reaps the imme- 

 diate advantage, and when this is multiplied throughout the 

 whole agricultural community, the State benefits by the general 

 prosperity. Besides, what a pleasure it is to a man to be able to 

 feed his stock during drought. The farmer who can do this must, 

 of course, store his surplus instead of selling it for the sake 'of 

 turning over the money at the moment. 



HOW TO MAKE HAY. 



To^nake lucerne hay, cut when the flowers appear ;sit should 

 not have too much flower, for as the plants go up into flower the 

 stalks get hard and thick, and the leaves fall off at the bottom. To 

 get good hay you must have all the leaf, and if cut too old, lucerne 

 will not make good hay. 



