1882 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
323 
A Straw Puller. 
“ H. M. S.,” Randolph Co., Ind., uses a 
hay hook which he made as follows : ‘ ‘ Select 
a natural fork, such as may be found on the 
limbs of many saplings growing in the 
forest. The fork is trimmed to a sharp point, 
A STRAW PULLER. 
and with the long handle made from the 
limb, one has a cheap and handy hook for 
handling straw and hay.” 
Forage Crops of the South-West. 
PROP. G. C. SWALLOW. 
In the American Agriculturist for April, I 
spoke of the great value and importance of 
the Herbage Crops of the South-West. I now 
call attention to the Forage Plants, crops 
which are second only to the former in their 
value and importance to our farmers. A very 
large proportion of our herbivorous domestic 
animals live almost entirely on herbage in 
pastures, yet a vast number of horses, mules, 
cattle, and sheep are fed the whole or some 
part of the year, on forage and other har¬ 
vested products of the farm. 
Forage Plants of the South-West.— 
There is a great variety of these, both native 
and naturalized, cultivated in this region. 
There seems to be a very general impression 
that the grasses and other Forage Plants do 
not grow so well in the South and South- 
West, as further north. But after examining 
the whole subject very carefully, I am forced 
to the opinion, by what I learn from others 
and from my own experience and observa¬ 
tion, North and South and West, that the 
South-West and South are the best portions 
of the Union for Forage Crops. 
Lucerne is perennial, and one of the best 
Forage Plants for the Southern part of the 
South-West. It is very nutritious and well 
relished by sheep, horses, cattle, and mules, 
which prefer it to most kinds of forage. It 
sends its tap roots deep into the soil, grows 
rapidly, and produces from two to four crops 
annually, yielding from three to five tons of 
of hay per acre. It furnishes good pasturage, 
but is greatly injured or killed by the close 
cropping of sheep and horses. 
Bermuda Grass is an excellent forage as 
well as herbage plant. It is perennial, and 
will, in pasture, feed more stock than most 
other grasses. The green grass makes about 
one-half its weight of hay, which is readily 
eaten by animals. It grows freely on poor 
land, and rapidly improves its fertility. But 
some dislike it because so difficult to eradicate 
when the land is used for other crops. 
Sorghum. —Several species or varieties of 
this perennial grass furnish good forage in 
the South-West. But Sorghum Halepense, 
sometimes called “Johnson Grass” and 
“ Mean’s Grass,” is most esteemed. It grows 
from 5 to 10 feet high, and is very productive, 
and may be cut from two to four times each 
season, yielding one or two tons per acre at 
each cutting. This Sorghum is rich in saccha- 
: rine matter, very nourishing, and is eagerly 
■.eaten by sheep, cattle, horses, and mules. 
Sorghum nutans, or Wild Sorghum, has at¬ 
tracted much attention in Arkansas, Missouri, 
and Kansas, and is one of the native grasses 
which give prairie hay its superiority over 
that of our foreign grasses. I have some¬ 
times ridden through this native Sorghum on 
the bottom prairies of Missouri and Kansas, 
where it was so tall and thick as to con- 
ceal a horseman or an elk thirty feet 
away. Our native Sorghum has not 
received that attention from our farm¬ 
ers which it seems to deserve. 
Indian Corn has furnished more forage 
to the farmers of the South-West than 
any other plant. It is grown more extensively 
than any other crop,primarily for its grain and 
incidentally for its excellent fodder. But few 
in the South-West, grow it, strictly speaking, 
for forage, though it be nutritious and eager¬ 
ly eaten by all herbivorous animals, either 
green or cured. Indian Corn is by far the 
best gift of our American flora, and it becomes 
more and more indispensable as its good 
qualities are better known. Many a hale and 
hearty octogenarian still blesses and eats the 
corn-cake that made his youth strong, his 
manhood vigorous, and his old age hale and 
hearty. So many a bullock and many a 
porker show the increase of muscle and fat, 
due to the corn they have eaten. But this 
pertains to another department of my subject. 
The stalks, cobs, shucks, leaves and tassels 
furnish our farmers with a very large propor¬ 
tion of their forage—many, in fact, depend 
upon the so-called com-fodder, for nearly all 1 
the forage, or “roughness” to take their 
horses, cattle, and sheep through the winter ; 
while others use it in connection with hay, 
straw, and herbage for winter food. The 
best forage obtained from corn raised pri¬ 
marily for the grain, is the leaves stripped, 
dried, tied in bundles and housed for use. 
This kind of fodder takes the first rank in 
our catalogue of forage ; but the labor is so 
great that but little is thus prepared. The 
next best kind is prepared by cutting the 
stocks above the ears (“topping”) while still 
green, drying, tying, and housing as was once 
the general custom in New England. This 
also requires too much labor for our modes 
of farming. But the more common mode, 
where the fodder is much desired, is to cut 
up and shock, com and all, while the stalks and 
leaves are yet green. When cured the corn 
is husked, and the fodder left out in shocks 
for use as needed. When well cured at the 
proper time, the fodder is very good, and 
eagerly eaten by cattle, horses, and sheep. 
When, however, the forage is not so much in 
demand, the stalks are left standing in the 
field, and after the com is gathered, the cat¬ 
tle, horses, and pigs are turned in to glean 
the nubbins and inferior fodder. Many 
herds are thus taken through the winter. 
Oats are very extensively cultivated for 
forage. They are sown as early as the soil 
will permit. They are sometimes cut, cured, 
stacked, and used as hay. Others tie them in 
sheaves as other cereals. When the grain is 
threshed the straw is used as hay. But the 
sheaves are often run tbrougfi a straw cutter 
and fed—grain and straw together. Pre¬ 
pared in this way, oats make the best forage 
known to the South-West for horses. 
Wheat is extensively cultivated for the 
grain; but the straw is sometimes used as 
forage. Farmers dispose of the wheat straw 
in various ways. Some burn it as fast as 
threshed, others place it in gullies to stop 
the wash, or allow it to lie on the ground 
until partly decayed, and then spread it for 
manure ; others still use it to make temporary 
sheds for stock ; but the greater number of 
farmers preserve and feed it out during the 
winter. If the wheat is free from rust and 
other diseases, and is cut at the proper age, 
and well preserved, the straw and chaff make 
an excellent forage for winter. 
Rye and Barley are grown in small 
quantities for the grain. The straw, though 
esteemed inferior to that of wheat, is often 
used for forage. A common mode of using 
it is to put it in long ricks in such form as to 
serve as a protection from wind and storm ; 
and then permit the farm animals to seek its 
shelter, and eat as hunger dictates. 
The Layering of Shrubs. 
Layering is the simplest of all methods of 
propagating, and one which the amateur 
who wishes to multiply his shrubs, and is 
without the facilities afforded by a propagat¬ 
ing house, most frequently resorts to. In¬ 
deed there are some shrubs that can with 
difficulty be propagated in any other manner; 
the Dutchman’s Pipe ( Aristolochia ), for ex¬ 
ample, is treated in this manner in the nurse¬ 
ries, and the charming little Garland Flower 
(Daphne Cneorum), so difficult to grow from 
cuttings, roots readily when layered. As 
stated last month, there are some varieties of 
the Grape that can only be propagated in this 
manner, and the usual method of layering 
the vine was illustrated on page 292. 
This method is easy with those shrubs that 
form branches so near the ground as to allow 
them to De bent down sufficiently to admit of 
the batying of a portion a few inches below 
the surface. After the layer is made, care 
must be taken that the soil does not become 
dry. A few flat stones placed on the surface 
will prevent this. Where it is desirable to 
layer a shrub, the branches of which are too 
high for the purpose, a flower-pot may be cut 
in two, lengthwise, using an old saw; then, 
if need-be, enlarge the drainage hole, and 
place the pot around the branch, wiring the 
two halves together. The pot is then filled 
with good soil, and, if necessary, supported 
by a stake. Of course the earth must be 
kept constantly moist. It is well to “ring” 
or remove a portion of bark from the stem. 
Another Milking Stool. 
Mr. “A. R. V.„” Wayne Co., N. Y., sends 
us a design for a 
Milking-stool, one 
which is both 
simple and con¬ 
venient. The side 
pieces,a,a, should 
be about 10 inch¬ 
es high. The pail 
rests on c, which 
is 2 feet long. The 
piece, d, should 
project far enough above the board c, to pre¬ 
vent the pail from sliding off the front end. 
Lime Applied, to Soils, naturally des¬ 
titute of it, supplies an essential element of 
plant food. In most cases, however, the good 
effects of this substance is due to the chemi¬ 
cal action which it exerts in the soil. It ren¬ 
ders available the plant food in the soil, with- 
