210 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



July 



as much as possible to the air, the less the clover is 

 handled the better ; all that should be done is to 

 turn the swathes over carefully from one side to 

 the other every day, or oftener, when the weather 

 is suitable, leaving them as open as possible to the 

 admission of the sun and wind. Under ordinary 

 circumstances, in threfe or four days the juices will 

 have been sufficiently evaporated to admit of form- 

 ing it into cocks or heaps, and in another day or 

 two it may be safely carted and stacked in the us- 

 ual way. ^ 



Some little care and attention are required 

 throughout the operation. If the cut crop be 

 tossed about in making, the leaves get easily sep- 

 arated from the stems and lost on the field, the 

 stems get bruised and broken, and allow the juices 

 to exude and become oxidized and changed by ex- 

 posure to the air, while the object of the farmer is 

 to keep them in their natural state, for the pur- 

 pose of giving flavor and quality to his fodder. In 

 stacking, too, it is desirable that the crop should 

 contain sufficient natural moisture in its tissues to 

 induce a gentle heat and fermentation in the mass, 

 by which the quality of the hay is greatly im- 

 proved ; whereas, if it be carried and stacked too 

 soon, the excess of moisture is always accompa- 

 nied by an equivalent of heat and fermentation ; 

 while, if left out on the field too long, the juices 

 all become dried up, and no heating in the stack 

 takes place at all. Although a certain amount of 

 natural moisture is always desirable at the time of 

 stacking, it is most important that it be free 

 fron> any surface moisture from rain or dews. 

 Not a forkful should be pitched up until every 

 particle of moisture has disappeared ; as, if al- 

 lowed to be stacked in this condition, mildew and 

 deterioration are sure to be the result. 



In the neighborhood of large cities it is very 

 much the custom to sell the clover hay, and load 

 back with stable manure. In other districts, 

 where the clover is intended for home consump- 

 tion, it is a very good practice to stack it with 

 layers of straw, intermixed with layers of clover. 

 By this practice the clover may be carried a day 

 or two sooner, more of the juices are retained, and 

 the hay generally remains in a more tender and 

 assimilable state, while the interstratified straw 

 has imbibed to a certain extent the flavor and 

 odor of the clover, and is ready for being cut up 

 into chafi' with it for the cattle. When straw is 

 thus used no other precautions are needed in re- 

 gard to the ventilation of the stack ; in ordinary 

 cases, where the quantity stacked is large, a chim- 

 ney in the centre is frequently resorted to, for the 

 purpose of checking any excessive heating. 



We wish, especially, to call the attention of the 

 reader to a single expression in the above extract, 

 viz : — "In stacking, (or storing in the barn, as we 

 do,) it is desirable that the crop should contain 

 sufficient natural moisture in its tissues to in- 

 duce a gentle heat and fermentation in the mass, 

 by which the quality of the hay is greatly im- 

 proved." This is a point of the utmost impor- 

 tance in securing hay, and yet it is one very gen- 

 erally overlooked by our farmers. In hot and dry 

 seasons, most of the hay is exposed until there is 

 scarcely a particle of moisture left in its tissues — 

 the natural juices of the plant are literally baked 



out by a scorching sun and drying winds. The 

 hay breaks like dry twigs, is harsh and wiry, and 

 has lost a valuable portion of its most nutritive 

 properties. The whole subject of making and se- 

 curing hay demands more care and consideration 

 than it has yet received. 



BLACK TEETH IN SWIWE. 



Last year this disease was somewhat prevalent 

 and destructive in New England, and those hav- 

 ing swine should be on their guard now that the 

 season for hot weather has again come. Confine- 

 ment from the ground is believed to be one of the 

 causes of this troublesome disease. Its com- 

 mencement is indicated by loss of appetite, tu- 

 mours and weakness in the hind legs, and fre- 

 quently in the loins, with staggering and vertigo. 

 As soon as these symptoms appear, administer a 

 dose of brimstone or flour of sulphur. Frequent 

 applications of buttermilk to the back and loins, 

 and gentle rubbing with a cob, will generally 

 bring relief, and frequently entire cure. The an- 

 imals should also be allowed a liberal supply of 

 loam, rotten wood and fresh, cool dirt. If there 

 is a yard attached to the piggery, the animals may 

 be permitted to run out if the weather is clear and 

 pleasant. 



No hog should be kept entirely away from the 

 ground, and none without access at all times, to a 

 dry bed, entirely away from the wind and sun. 

 Another great oversight in keeping swine is in 

 not giving them all the pure, freshwater they will 

 drink, and especially in hot weather. Once each 

 day, at least, a bucket of cool water should be 

 turned into a clean trough, where the hog can 

 drink what he pleases. The opinion seems quite 

 common that swine do not need much drink. 

 Perhaps they do not require as much as some oth- 

 er animals, but unless they get it in their swill, 

 they should have access to water every day. 



The Quantity of Buttee Increased by 

 Water. — A New York dairyman furnishes the 

 following advice for the Genesee Farmer : 



There has a great deal been said about butter- 

 making, but I thought, as I had had a little expe- 

 rience, I might ofier a few hints that may be of 

 use to some of your many readers. When cows 

 are feeding on dry feed, the milk is thicker or 

 richer than when feeding on juicy grasses ; then 

 add warm water, when setting the milk, in quan- 

 tities sufficient to make it as the milk from ordi- 

 nary cows in May or June. The milk from some 

 cows in the spring and summer months is very I 

 thick or rich ; then add cold water, if the weather \ 

 be hot. I have practiced the above, and it has 

 increased the quantity from one to three pounds 

 per cow, each week. 



I 



Cracks in Cows' Teats. — These are easily 

 cured, by rubbing molasses on the teats for a few 

 days after milking. 



