216 



NEW ENGLAND FARRIER. 



May 



when wanted. The same men had cultivated 

 1200 acres on tlie same farm the year previ- 

 ous. The owner of the aj)paratus owned 10 or 

 12 sets, all at work within 20 miles. The 

 cost of the engines, ])louKhs, cultivators, «S:c., 

 is at least £lobO (say $7500. 



A single engine is used frequently, with a 

 rope extending twice across the field, with 

 anchors on the opposite side. — Western Far- 

 mer. 



For the Kew England Farmer. 

 THE HAY CROP. 

 Poor Prospect. 



What are we going to do for hay the coni; 

 ing year ? is a (juestion one hears discussed 

 quite anxiously' wherever the drought of last 

 year prevailed. 



The grass seed that was put in with spring 

 gi'ain IS making a small show at this time, ex- 

 cept on exccjitionally favorable fields. On 

 high dry land it is nearly a total failure, and 

 the plants are thin on most of the newly seed- 

 ed ground. 



On old fields the best kinds of grasses are 

 dead and only the poorer sorts left, and on 

 thousands of acres in this part of New Eng- 

 land the white grub, (the larva of the May- 

 bug,) has entirely killed every thing but sor- 

 rel and a few other coarse weeds. The turf 

 may be rolled up like a mat, by the acre. 



Pastures are also injured by the same causes 

 and the prospect for summer feed is not at all 

 promising. 



If this state of things existed only on an 

 eighth or a tenth part of our farms it would 

 be nothing very serious, for that amount could 

 be ploughed and planted with the usual hoed 

 crops and again reseeded, but where the dam- 

 age is from one-fourth to nearly the whole, it 

 becomes a very serious matter. 



Curing Fodder Corn. 



Dairy farmers will need to make some ex- 

 tra effort this season in order to provide suf- 

 ficient forage for their stock. Having this 

 subject on my mind I called the other day on 

 Mr. Rensselaer Jillson, at his farm near 

 Woonsocket, R. I. I had heard of his large 

 fields of fodder corn, and something of his 

 method of curing and using the fodder, but I 

 wished to learn more of the details of his 

 management. 



Mr. Jillson, like many others, believes in 

 corn fodder, and has raised it several years 

 for fall feeding, getting it ready as early as 

 possible and feeding it green till frost comes. 

 The last two or three years he has been try- 

 ing to learn how best to cure it for feeding 

 after frosty weather prevents its being fed 

 green. He is satisfied that it is neither prac- 

 ticable nor profitable to try to house it in 

 any large fjuantities. It grows so large that 

 the stalks hold moisture enough to cause vio- 

 lent heating if packed in buildings. 



If it could be kept standing on end, un- 

 der cover it would cure perfectly, but if it 

 begins to lean over and pack down it will 

 heat and spoil. And then he raised such im- 

 mense fjuantities on his farm that iiousing it 

 is with him entirely impracticable. He plants 

 the largest Southern white variety, because 

 it will produce so much more than any other 

 kind. Thinks sweet corn is liked by the cows 

 better than the Southern, but he can not grow 

 enough of it on an acre to suit his ideas of 

 profit. Always plants in drills, using about 

 three bushels of seed per acre. Does most of 

 the work of hoeing with a horse hoe. Plants 

 at intervals of about ten days, that the har- 

 vesting may not all come at once. 



As soon as the corn is fit to feed, it takes 

 the place of pasture grass and hay for his 

 cows, — giving them all they will eat each day. 



When the first planting is in blossom and 

 before the leaves begin to get nmcli dry, it 

 is cut and laid on the ground to wilt for a few 

 days, if the weather is favorable. If a storm 

 is expected, it is bound in bundles as large as a 

 man can easily handle and innnediately 

 stooked. He tried many ways of stocking, 

 but with indifferent success, till he learned to 

 make large stooks and have them stand alone 

 in the field till wanted at the barn. He now 

 makes his stooks about ten feet in diameter, 

 setting the corn quite straight up, and uses 

 no bands to confine it but depends only on its 

 own weight and size to keep it upright. 



When the second planting is ready, it is 

 treated in the same manner, and so on through 

 the fall till there is danger of frosts, when all 

 that remains is cut down and stooked. 



After this time, it is drawn to the barn as 

 wanted as long as it lasts. This year he had 

 it in good condition till December or January. 



He thinks it may be kept in very good con- 

 dition till March. The outside of the stooks 

 gets considerably weather beaten, but the in- 

 side keeps bright and sweet, and his cattle 

 waste but veiy little of it. They have in win- 

 ter one feeding of it per day, which is one- 

 third of their food, exclusive of grain. His 

 cows show that they are well fed and the 

 prices he obtains for his milk, as well as the 

 neatness of everA'thing about the stables, in- 

 dicates that he does not believe in neglecting 

 the comfort or cleanliness of his animals. 



Like other bold experimenters, he has some- 

 times made costly mistakes, but his system of 

 growing and curing cornfodder for winter use 

 is being adopted by his neighbors ; and this 

 season many farmers in this section will try 

 to benefit themselves and their stock by fol- 

 lowing his example. 



It is is not claimed that green cornfodder is 

 better food for cows than green grass ; but in 

 the absence of grass it is claimed that more 

 good food can be obtained from an acre of 

 land in corn, than from any other known crop, 

 with the same expense for manure and labor. 



