1860. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



413 



State ! Dr. Oramel Martin, of Worcester, was the 

 only one present of the appointed Medical Com- 

 mission, and he stated that a peculiar appearance 

 of the lungs, which at previous examinations he 

 had pronounced diseased, was not disease, but 

 was not uncommon in health, and '"further obser- 

 vation had led him to back out of that belief." 

 Dr. Thayer frankly confessed that in the lungs be- 

 fore him the disease which he had diagnosed Vi^as 

 not to be found. 



Mr. Wellington was given to understand that 

 the third cow would be slaughtered, probably, at 

 some future time, and his son, Mr. Andrew Wel- 

 lington, particularly requested that it might be 

 deferred as long as practicable, for his infant 

 child ivasfed exclusivehj on the milk of that coio! 



Lexington f July 19, 1860. RusTicus. 



THEOBY OF CUBI]!3"a HAY. 



QUESTIOXS TO THE POINT. 



We are just in the midst of the haying season. 

 Believing that to husband this most important 

 crop in the best manner possible, it is necessary 

 to understand the chemical changes which take 

 place during the curing of hay, or when it is dam- 

 aged, I submit to you a few questions, which 

 please answer through the columns of the Home- 

 stead. 



1. When a handful of well-cured hay is allowed 

 to be saturated v/ith dew, how is it damaged ? 



If it does not drip, nothing soluble is carried 

 off. When the hay dries, I cannot see but that 

 an analysis would give just as much sugar, just 

 the same quantity of albuminous compounds, and 

 just the same quantity of fatty matter; but it is 

 damaged. How ? 



2. Is grass only wilted damaged as much as 

 cured hay by dew ? 



3. Can it be that grass cut when the dew is on 

 will not make as good hay as that which is cut 

 free from dew or rain ? 



If it will not, please give the reason. I cannot 

 see how it is. It may take less labor to make the 

 hay, but is it much or any better ? I should be 

 glad to see how it can be damaged. 



4. Is it the flavor of hay that is destroyed when 

 It is exposed to the sun for the length of time far- 

 mers generally do ? 



5. When hay is dried excessively in the sun, is 

 there not the same quantity of sugar, albumen, &c., 

 in it ? 



6. Is the per cent, of water in old and unsalted 

 hay the same, without regard to the species of 

 grass from which it was made ; or will different 

 kinds of grass dry away and retain the same quan- 

 tity of water ? 



In answering the foregoing questions you will 

 confer a favor on yours truly, 



Oxford, July 12th, 1860. Benj. Wood. 



Answer. — It is a real pleasure to be subjected 

 to a discriminating catechism like the foregoing. 

 We might play Sir Oracle, and endeavor to im- 

 press our readers with the stores of wisdom which 

 we have to draw upon for their benefit ; but the 

 fact is, our correspondent touches upon subjects 

 very difficult to discuss, for lack of facts and full 

 investigations. We must argue from facts proven 

 fn regard to other things, and from those practi- 



cally demonstrated, and perhaps take as true the 

 statements of theorists which have led to success- 

 ful practice. 



It may be that the various changes occurring 

 in grass and similar vegetables, under the circum- 

 stances incident to hay-making, have been inves- 

 tigated by some competent chemist and vegetable 

 physiologist ; but we know of no record of such 

 investigation, and it is very much needed. 



The juices of plants must be regarded as living 

 or vitalized fluids, and the changes which they 

 undergo in drying or dicing, must be regarded not 

 as if they were mere solutions of sugar, gum, mu- 

 cilage, albumen, etc. It is true that if we dry a 

 solution of a mixture of many of such substances, 

 in which no fermentation is active, we shall sim- 

 ply dry it without change ; but if such a solution 

 be in fermentation, changes will take place whicli 

 a certain degree of drjTiess will check, and which 

 will be recommenced whenever sufficient moisture 

 is present. There is a vast difference in the chan- 

 ges thus induced which occur in different plants, 

 and in the rapidity or ease with which they take 

 place. Whoever preserves plants for an herbari- 

 um, knows that if he would preserve the natural 

 colors of the flowers and leaves of many plants, he 

 must secure very rapid drying before fermentation 

 commences. The leaves of most of the lily tribe 

 are of this character, and show by turning yellow, 

 the least commencement of fermentative changes, 

 and in this respect are vastly more sensitive than 

 the foliage of most other plants. 



Changes in vitalized organisms may be regard- 

 ed as solely, or chiefly at least, in the fluids, and 

 in the solids only as they are acted upon by the 

 fluids, — so the juices of grass are our chief con- 

 cern. These juices are, in the first place, living 

 fluids, and as such, liable to change ; they pass 

 readily into fermentation, and in this condition 

 are liable to certain other changes. The changes, 

 while still there is vitality, are of a character sim- 

 ilar to natural growth, — formation of cellular struc- 

 ture and woody fibre from soluble or partially sol- 

 uble matters of the juices, maturing of the seed, 

 &c. The changes induced by fermentation, on the 

 contrary, are of a degrading character, — that is, 

 tending towards decomposition. Fermentation 

 changes starch into sugar, and this into alcohol, 

 and alcohol into vinegar — each a less complex 

 body than the preceding. It is incipient decaj'. 



All these changes are arrested by a certain de- 

 gree of dryness. If the dryness is excessive, we 

 suppose that the vitality of the fluids of the grass 

 is destroyed, and fermentation commences when 

 there is sufficient moisture more readily than if 

 the juices are so dried that a uniform thickening 

 of them takes place, and they remain unchanged 

 in other respects. There are, however, plants 

 which may be dried to a good hay dryness, and 

 still, when moisture comes, revive and live, strik- 

 ing root perhaps, or at least maturing seed. 



The sunlight exercises, as we all know, a most 

 powerful influence in promoting chemical changes. 

 This can be scon in hay as well in anything else ; 

 but a few familiar examples not of the field may 

 illustrate it better. Brown linen has a peculiar 

 odor, a greenish brown color, etc. ; it is bleached 

 by dew and sunshine, white as the driven snow. 

 Solar light contains what are called chemical rays, 

 because this influence can be separated just as 

 blue from yellow in the spectrum, and a great va- 



