462 
July 5 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
PLANTING POTATOES FROM BOXES. Fie. 182. 
EARLY AND LATE CUT HAY COMPARED. 
One of the most common errors is in allowing the 
hay crop to become overripe. This not only reduces 
the digestibility of the crop, but also lessens its 
palatability, a fact too often overlooked in the feeding 
of farm live stock. It would be economy, in case a 
large amount of hay is harvested, to cut part of It 
even before the crop is fully grown, rather than to 
allow any considerable portion to become tough and 
woody by standing until the seed is formed. Late-cut 
grass is not only less digestible and less palatable 
than that cut while in bloom, but also requires a 
greater amount of labor on the part of the animal to 
make the food nutrients available. The labor per¬ 
formed in grinding and digesting this tough, woody 
material requires much energy that otherwise might 
be used for building up direct animal products, such 
as meat and milk. The principal changes which take 
place in grass as it advances in maturity are the In¬ 
crease in the proportion of woody fiber and the stor¬ 
age of food materials in the seed, neither of which 
adds to the feeding value of the fodder. If the seed 
is allowed to develop, most of it is lost in the har¬ 
vesting; or, if retained, it is too small and hard to be 
acted upon by the digestive system of the animals. 
The increase in the woody fiber helps to encase and 
lock up the other food nutrients, which are of greater 
value, and which might have been available If the 
crop had been cut before the woody fiber had to so 
great an extent developed. The value of hay is chiefly 
dependent upon its composition and its rate of digesti¬ 
bility. As all fodders develop and advance toward 
maturity the relative proportion of protein becomes 
smaller, while the proportions of fiber and starchy 
materials (nitrogen free extract) increase. While the 
grasses continue to increase in total dry matter up to 
the seed stage, the increase which takes place after 
the blooming stage is in those parts of the fodder of 
least value to the animal. 
The value of early-cut hay over late-cut hay is 
shown in the following table, which gives the com¬ 
position of early and late-cut Timothy, prepared from 
work done at the Maine Experiment Station. Under 
the heading of percentage of crude nutrients it will 
be seen that the protein in the early-cut hay is con¬ 
siderably more, but that the nitrogen free extract 
(starchy matter) is more in the late-cut hay. The 
percentages of the different nutrients which were di¬ 
gested by the sheep in several experiments with early 
and late-cut Timothy is seen under the heading rates 
of digestibility. These figures show that the rates of 
digestibility of the late-cut were decidedly lower. This 
condition tends to lower the percentages of the diges¬ 
tible nutrients for the late-cut hay so that the differ¬ 
ence is greater than the composition of crop as har¬ 
vested would indicate. The yields of well-dried hay 
from similar areas, one area cut in “early bloom” 
and the other “10 days past bloom” are nearly the 
same. The hay was dried in the barn until November 
28, then reweighed and analyzed. At that time it was 
found that the water in each of the lots was very 
nearly the same. This makes a comparison of the 
yields per acre of digestible nutrients in each of the 
two lots of hay a very fair one. The yields of digest¬ 
ible protein were 66 pounds less, the nitrogen free 
extract (starchy matter) 60 pounds less, in the woody 
fiber 112 pounds less In the case of the late-cut than 
in the early-cut hay. 
Total 
Percentages of 
organic Pro- 
Starchy Woody 
crude nutrients. 
matter, tein. 
Fat. 
matter, fiber. 
Timothy hay in 
early 
47.64 
26.77 
bloom . 
8.15 
3.78 
Timothy hay 10 
days 
7.00 
3.46 
61.08 
26.82 
_ 88.36 
Rates of Digestibility. 
Timothy, two lots early- 
68 . 
61, 
cut .. 
. 64. 
60. 
55. 
Timothy, three lots 
late- 
49. 
61. 
49. 
cut . 
.56. 
47. 
Percentages of digestible nutrients. 
2.08 
32.40 
16.33 
Timothy in early bloom.. 55.64 
6.25 
Timothy 10 days 
past 
1.70 
31.16 
14.14 
bloom . 
3.29 
Yields of hay and the total digestible 
nutrients per 
acre. 
Lbs. 
Lbs. 
Lbs. 
Lbs. 
Lbs. 
3.233 lbs. dry hay in 
1,047 
528 
early bloom . 
. 1,799 
170 
67. 
3,168 lbs. dry hay 10 
days 
987 
416 
past bloom . 
104 
64. 
Connecticut. 
C. 
S. PHELPS. 
HORSE BEATS A HIRED MAN. 
W. E. Rines, of New Hampshire, calls himself a one- 
man farmer, because he does most of his work alone. 
At an institute last Winter corn growing was discussed, 
and Mr. Rines told his way of handling the crop. 
The speaker in answer to some of my questions said 
that instead of shocking corn raised for the grain 
around a horse in shocks that husked out one-half 
bushel ears, as he used to do, he tied it in small 
bundles and then shocked it, because he could not 
handle it as well in large shocks. I told them I 
shocked mine around a horse in shocks that would 
husk a bushel. I made a frame by taking two pieces 
2x6 inches as long as a stone drag, and two pieces 2x4 
inches, a little longer than the width of the drag, and 
fastened this to the drag by putting a large screw 
through the cross pieces into both ends of the drag. 
There is a stake in each corner of the frame. I tie 
the shocks near the tops with tarred rope about 3% 
feet long. When I draw the corn in I drive close to 
the shocks and pull them over, the same as you would 
lay a barrel on its side. Put on three or four of them 
and drive into the barn floor, and head them up in the 
same way. They all thought this a good way to handle 
corn. I have got used to working alone, and the horse 
and I have done work that many people would think 
could not be done without more help. A picture of 
the horse Gipsey and my drag is shown at Fig. 185 
I bought her the day after she came from Canada. 
She was five or six years old, and I have had her 
nearly 12 years—a good driver, a good worker, and 
one of the most intelligent animals I ever saw. She 
SPROUTING POTATOES IN BOXES. Fie. 183. 
is a dark bay, weighs about 1,300 pounds, and is a 
perfect pet. She is good anywhere you put her, al¬ 
ways willing to do anything she is asked to, and could 
not be bought at any price. 
THE CHINAMAN AS A "HIRED MAN”. 
I have had no experience with Chinese as farm 
hands, nor do I think you can find many farmers on 
Puget Sound who have. In nearly 40 years residence 
on this coast I do not think I have known more than 
two or possibly three instances where they have been 
employed in the capacity of “hired man.” I have 
been conversant with their ways and manner of work 
during this time, both here and in California, and 
have observed that most of their farming consists in 
market gardening near cities or large towns, where 
all their work is practically done by hand labor. I 
have seen hundreds of them at work, but do not re¬ 
member ever seeing a single one by himself—always 
in gangs. Even where they rent land of farmers to 
put in potatoes, as has been done quite extensively on 
this island, the land is rented by a boss Chinaman, 
and he hires a gang to do the hand labor, while the 
terms of the contract are always such that the owner 
or occupant of the land does all the team work by 
white hired help if he is not able to do it personally, 
such as plowing and harrowing the land, sometimes 
using cultivator an agreed number of times on the 
crop, and hauling the crop to market at a specified 
sum per diem. They are seldom used by farmers even 
to fill up gaps at harvest or thrashing time, when help 
is often quite scarce, and even Indians are made to 
do duty. They do not seem to take a liking to domes¬ 
tic animals of any kind; are never used as milkers or 
teamsters, or go out to work by the day at any kind 
of farm labor. In this part of the country farmers 
want hired men they can treat as one of the family, 
eating at the same table, having access to papers and 
books, going to church on Sunday, and behaving gen¬ 
erally like “white folks.” With Chinamen you can’t 
do this, for they prefer their own foods, cooked and 
eaten in their own way, by themselves. I have never 
yet seen one of them eating at a white man’s table. 
Of course as house servants they eat in the house, 
coming to the second table, or oftener in the kitchen, 
eating food cooked for their own special use. I don’t 
think I am prejudiced against them, for they are all 
right in their own way and place, being economical, 
fairly truthful, and usually quite industrious, but I 
very much doubt (and I was born and raised on a 
Connecticut farm and so know something of tarm 
wants) whether the Chinaman will ever be utilized 
to any extent by farmers as a “hired man,” either 
here or at the East. f. r. Morgan. 
Island Co., Wash. 
SEED POTATOES IN BOXES. 
The Market Gardener, of London, gives the details 
of a plan for handling seed potatoes, quite generally 
used throughout the British Isles. It consists in stor¬ 
ing the seed tubers in shallow boxes in such a way 
that they develop strong sprouts before planting time, 
and may be taken to the field without breaking the 
sprouts. A common size for the boxes is 2 1 / &xl% feet 
by four inches deep, with upright pieces at each cor¬ 
ner four inches above the sides, so that the boxes may 
be piled up. There may be handles on each end, or a 
cross bar lengthwise through the middle will answer 
the same purpose. From 30 to 40 of these boxes are 
required to hold seed enough for an acre. For stor¬ 
ing, a building where the tubers may be kept cool and 
be exposed to light is preferable, as tough, stocky 
sprouts are thus induced. Fig. 183 shows the manner 
in which the boxes are piled in the storage room. 
Potatoes sprouted thus may be planted from one to 
three weeks later than usual, when all danger of frost 
is past and the soil is in condition for rapid growth. 
Fig. 182 shows the manner of hananng the tubers in 
the field. The average of a large number of tests 
shows a gain in yield of about 1,200 pounds per acre 
over the old methods. 
HELP IN THE HAY MOW. 
A horse fork makes quick work of unloading hay, 
but unless proper care is taken to tear the forkfuls in 
pieces and keep the mow nearly level, a great amount 
of hard work is required to get the hay out. Fig. 184 
reproduced from the Northwestern Agriculturist, il¬ 
lustrates a device used by J. B. Cleves, of Wisconsin, 
which is said to spread the hay about the mow with 
very little hand labor. It consists of a platform 6x8 
feet, made of inch boards well cleated at the ends. A 
piece of 4x6-inch pine six feet eight inches long is 
nailed across the middle of the platform on the under 
side. This cross piece is first rounded at both ends, 
and the remainder half rounded. On a two-foot scaf¬ 
folding placed on the girders directly under the fork 
track the full length of the mow, slotted blocks made 
of 2x6-inch stuff are nailed at intervals of six feet. In 
these the cross piece under the platform rests and 
moves freely. It is tilted and held in place by guy 
ropes, as shown in the cut, and may be moved along 
the mow as desired. It is necessary to have at least 
10 feet between the fork track and center of platform. 
When a forkful of hay strikes this slanting platform 
it shoots off to one side and is well scattered instead 
of falling in a heap under the track. 
THE HAY CROP.—Present indications point to a large 
yield of hay throughout the Eastern States lying north 
of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The crop will yield a 
good average. The early drought retarded the growth 
somewhat, hut we have had abundant rainfall for the 
past 30 days, which has stimulated the growth of the 
grass crop wonderfully. The reports which we receive 
daily from our southern and western branches are more 
or less discouraging. For instance, in our Pittsburg office 
territory, which controls the major portion of western 
New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania and Maryland, 
they report a severe drought, which is not only having a 
telling effect upon the grass crop, but oats, and wheat as 
well. The same condition applies throughout the South, 
including Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, 
Ohio and the Central West will yield a good grass crop, 
generally speaking. The small grain in the Kansas City 
district was damaged early in the season by an extended 
drought, and just at this time they are receiving exces¬ 
sive rainfall, which is now damaging the short crop, 
which must necessarily follow a dry period so early in 
the season. Taking the territory upon a whole, however, 
the average will be good. Walter a. wood co. 
Hoosick Falls. N. Y. 
