UNFERMENTED HAY. 67 



hay is not saleable, so it is best to keep it separate or at one end of 

 the stack, it will be useful feeding for your cows and horses when 

 the bast hiy is sold. It is a saving of labour to allow the cows and 

 horses to fe?,d at the stack, and economy to allow the ostriches to 

 pick up the leaves round the stack when the cattle are taken away. 

 It is als > convenient to arrange your stacks in such a position 

 as to albw sUck fro n your different veld camps to have access to 

 thsm when required, and for ostriches I find it is a good plan to 

 slice off all round the stack with a sharp spade. This method of 

 feeding leaves very little waste, as the stuff falls immediately round 

 the stack and cannot be tramped upon. This I find better than 

 chaffing the hay in the machine and throwing it out into the dust. 



More Good Tips. 



(By R. A. HOCKLY.) 



We extract the following from a thoughtful paper dealing 

 with the whole subject of lucerne growing, read by Mr. R. A. 

 Hockly before the Fort Beaufort Farmers' Association. Mr. Hockly 

 tells us the double watering of ground before sowing is a good tip, 

 giving the young plant a splendid start without the necessity of 

 watering until il is better able to stand the hardening of the surface 

 soil which so often follows. Mr. Hockly grows a good stretch of 

 lucerne and has had much experience. We make the following 

 extracts : 



Don't spare any trouble in levelling the ground and in work- 

 ing it up into good order, by thorough ploughing and cultivating 

 beforehand. I have found that a good plan is, after you have 

 levelled your ground sufficiently, to plough it thoroughly well after 

 a good rain or watering ; then leave it for about a week to let the 

 surface ground dry out a little, then water it again, and as soon as 

 ever the ground can bear the weight of the oxen, go over it with a 

 spring-tooth harrow until it is all nicely worked up, then follow 

 with zig-zag harrow until fine enough for the seed ; then sow your 

 seed at the rate of about 20 Ibs. to the acre, harrow again twice 

 over, to be followed by a light roller generally the next day, so as 

 to let the ground get a little dry on top, otherwise the roller presses 

 the wet ground down too tight, giving it a crinkly appearance, 

 which on drying out gets very hard and bad for the fine seed to 

 come through. By this method you get your seed sown under very 

 favourable conditions, as the subsoil, with the two waterings, is 

 mud wet underneath, and will supply moisture to the young tender 

 plants for a considerable time ; this is a great advantage, as it is a 

 set-back to have to water very young lucerne, the ground gets hard 

 set and the plants suffer. 



