10 FARM PRACTICE WITH FORAGE CROPS IN OREGON, ETC. 



that either is too strong a feed for horses, especially if cut very green. 

 For this reason hay made from leguminous crops is frequently cut 

 much riper if for horses than when intended for other animals. 



Laxative feeding stuffs are undesirable for horses, but not for cows. 

 Green hay is laxative -in character, while hay cut in a more mature 

 condition has an opposite tendency. The stage at which hay should 

 be cut, therefore, will depend upon the class of animals for which it 

 is intended. 



The number of times a meadow is to be cut during a season is an- 

 other factor in the time for cutting hay that must not be overlooked. 

 If there is to be but one cutting, the greatest yield will be secured 

 by allowing the crop to become quite well matured before it is cut. 

 When two cuttings are to be made, farmers who have tried the experi- 

 ment find that the greatest yield is secured by cutting the first crop 

 while it is still green and growing and before the dry season has begun. 

 The ordinary hay plants are not inclined to continue their growth 

 after the first cutting if allowed to stand until their seed is pretty 

 Avell formed. A delay of only a few days in cutting the first crop 

 of the season often seriously affects the growth of the second. 



A statement of the time for cutting will be found under the special 

 discussion of each crop. 



CURING HAY. 



The best bay is made without rain and with the least possible amount of 

 sunshine. If it were possible to cure hay in the shade, the quality would be 

 much better. The curing of hay is a process of drying and of fermentation. 

 Hot sun tends to stop fermentations which produce hay of good quality. « 



From what is said above it is evident that hay should remain in 

 the swath only until dry enough to be raked evenly into windrows; 

 that most of the curing should take place in the cock rather than in 

 the swath or windrow ; and that, just as quickly as it is safe to clo so, 

 it should be placed in the stack or mow. With fair weather and hot 

 sun, light crops may be raked soon after mowing, often in two or 

 three hours. Heavier crops, especially when green, require more 

 time. When the growth is heavy the swath is often packed so closely 

 to the ground from its own weight and the pressure of the wheels of 

 the mower that the use of the tedder is necessary to dry it out evenly. 



West of the Cascade Mountains hay is generally put up in per- 

 manent cocks, where it remains for a week or ten days. If it is to 

 remain in the field but a short time some farmers cure it quickly by 

 first putting it into small, flat cocks. In about twenty-four hours 

 these are turned over, allowed to air, and three or four of them are 

 then made into one permanent cock. At what stage hay should be 

 stacked is a question upon which there are many opinions. A com- 



a W. J. Spillman, in " Farm Grasses of the United States." 



94 



