1897 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
387 
MILLE1 FOR HAY AND SEED. 
• What is the best and cheapest -way to cure Hungarian grass 
and common millet for hay ? How should the seed crop be 
handled ? 
Cure Quickly as Possible. 
Millet, when grown for hay, should be cured as 
quickly as possible. Owing to the coarseness of the 
stems, the hay will keep well if not dried till the 
stems are brittle. There is a general tendency among 
farmers to dry all hays too much, and thus to lessen 
their palatability. One day’s thorough drying, fol¬ 
lowed by a few hours’ airing the second day, are suf 
ficient for nearly all„hays except clovers. If millet 
is to be grown for seed, it should be mown when the 
seeds are beginning to harden, and after one day’s 
drying, should be cured in the heap for two or three 
days. After storing on a loft or scaffold for one 
month or more, the seed will thrash easily and can be 
preserved the same as rye or any other grains. 
Storrs Agricultural College. c. s. phelps. 
Need More Curing Than Timothy. 
I have had some experience and less success in raising 
millet and Hungarian grass. Theoretically, they are 
very valuable chink-fillers in the raising, and nutritious 
in the feeding. Practically, the conditions are not 
always easy. My failures may be attributed to a 
tough seed bed generally. It is recommended to turn 
over a depleted sod after the hay is taken off in July. 
But the ground is then generally dry and hard ; it is 
difficult to plow well and get a mellow seed bedf The 
mellow seed bed is one of the necessities of the case, 
and water for starting the seed another. July and 
August are not always flush with water. If one can 
meet the conditions, a valuable crop can be raised. 
The millets must be cut early, as the seed matures 
quickly. The curing is like that of Timothy hay, e’x- 
cept that more of it is needed. I have put apparently 
well-cured Hungarian into a mow to find it smoky in 
the winter. We forget that a September sunshine 
has not the quality for haymaking possessed by the 
July sun. It is claimed, I believe, that its cherrical 
action even is different. At least one extr~ good 
day more should be given to drying than would 
be given to curing Timothy. k. c. birgk. 
Connecticut. 
The Hay and Seed Crop. 
For hay, I cut when in early bloom. If they stand 
longer, the stems of the larger varieties get tough 
and harsh. If seeds form and the hay is for horses, it 
is liable to affect their kidneys. Cut in the morning, 
at evening turn over, and the next day place in 
small cocks and cover with hay caps. I have had 
good success curing in cocks by simply opening 
once or twice in the middle of the day. I find it very 
hard to prevent birds getting the most of the seeds. 
As soon as the seed is well formed (the birds tell me just 
when). I have a boy watch the fields with a shotgun from 
5 to 9:30 A. M. and 3:30 to 6:30 p. M. ; with clapper and 
occasional shot, he keeps them away. My experience 
with seed millet is largely with the Japanese, which 
grows from 5 to 7% feet tall. This I sow in drills 12 
to 15 inches apart, according to kind, using about 
three quarts of seed per acre. When the seed begins 
to dry, 1 cut by hand and lay in small bundles. After 
these get well dried, I bind and stook in the field, 
standing up about eight or ten bundles, bind the tops, 
and tie my cloth hay caps over the top to keep the 
birds away. As soon as dry, I thrash from the field. 
Some kinds, as Hungarian, thrash very easily, while 
it is almost impossible to shell others clean with a flail. 
Mass. Ag’l College. [prof.] h. m Thomson. 
Cure in the Shade. 
Hungarian and Millet, when intended for hay, 
should be handled very much the same as clover, as 
they do not cure so quickly as Timothy. They 
should be cut with a mowing machine just as they 
are coming into bloom, in the afternoon, late enough 
so they will not cure much the same day. The next 
day, rake with a steel-toothed rake into windrows, 
then cock up nicely, not making the cocks too large, 
and cure in the shade. The hay should only be nicely 
wilted in the sun, and cured in the cock. No matter 
how favorable the weather, one should not attempt 
to cure with sun and air alone if the best quality is 
desired. There is no kind of hay injured so little if 
caught out in a rain. Any observing farmer very 
well knows how greedily stock will eat hay that has 
been cured in the cock, while the same hay, if ex¬ 
posed to the burning sun and hot wind until it is over- 
dried, is not much more relished by stock than good 
bright straw. If intended for seed the millets may 
be left to stand until ripened, when they may be cut 
with a binder, bound into small bundles, and set up 
like other grain until cured sufficient to keep in the 
mow without heating. Or they may be cut with a 
drop reaper, and either bound by hand or taken up 
loose with a barley fork, and put into the mow the 
same as hay. The latter method does not require as 
much time to cure as when the millet is bound into 
bundles. l. d. gale. 
Chautauqua County, N. Y. 
SOME POINTS ABOUT SPRAYING. 
On page 337, The R. N.-Y. truly describes a new 
departure in spraying apparatus. I predict for it 
success. It is likely that some details remain to be 
worked out in actual field practice. Some little 
points suggest themselves at a glance. The 10-barrel 
tank drawn by one horse as per illustration will need 
modification as to horse or tank as soon as the outfit 
leaves city pavements, and strikes plowed orchards. 
There will be a demand for a 2,200-pound Clydesdale 
or a dwarf tank, as the weight of the liquid alone 
would be 'IM tons; add to this the weight of tank, 
wagon and men, and only a very strong team could 
handle it on soft ground. 
I like the width of tires U3ed on the wagon and the 
arrangement of the tread of the wheels. Those 
points have been worked out enough to show that 
the wagon, as built and arranged, is ideal for hauling 
on the farm, except the low wheels. My experience 
is that the lower the wheels the greater the power 
needed, and the softer the ground, the harder the 
pull. For many uses around the farm, a wagon on 
low wheels, from its convenience, is of more use than 
a wagon on high wheels, and the increased horse 
power used is more than offset by the diminished man 
powder needed. I think for a general spraying 
wagon, it is best to use rear wheels, say, four feet 
high and front wheels as high as can be used to turn 
completely under the platform. 
To make this new rig doubly effective in orchard 
work, the elevated platform invented by New York 
orchardists or some modified form needs to be added, 
because of the difficulty of reaching the topmost 
branches of even ordinary trees from the ground 
with a fine spray ; also, because effective spraying 
TWO IDEAS FOR SPRAYING WAGON. Fig. 169. 
can be done in quite windy weather from an eleva¬ 
tion, but not from the ground. In actual use, the 
square platform is found to occupy more space than 
exists free from limbs, even in a grown peach orchard 
with trees set 20x20 feet, consequently some scraping 
of branches and loss of time in getting around 
obstructions occur. Those objections can be, at 
least, partly overcome by crossing the supports for 
the elevated platform, having the cross come at a 
height where the limbs nearest approach each other 
or a single row of supports may be used well braced 
top and bottom, and the elevated platform overhang 
the sides—see Fig. 169. s. h. derby. 
Delaware. 
WHAT THEY SAY. 
Writing on Zinc Labels —Mr. Van Deman has a 
good idea about wrapping zinc tags around the limbs 
of trees, and writing the names on them. If he would 
dissolve some sulphate of copper (blue vitriol) in 
water, and with a quill pen write the names of trees 
on zinc tags, it would remain on them until the tag 
had rotted out, even if they were buried in the ground. 
Medina, N. Y. A. h. 
Raising Teosinte Seed —Some time ago, a sub¬ 
scriber of The R. N.-Y. stated his experience with 
Teosinte, and said, among other things, that it failed 
to seed for him, and that he would try to secure this 
end by planting as early as May 1. But his inten¬ 
tions are confronted by two serious drawbacks : It 
must be remembered that Teosinte is of a tropical 
origin and sensitive to frost, and it is by no means a 
rare thiDg for severe frosts to occur as late as the last 
week in May, even as far south as North Carolina. 
Such was the case this year, on the night of May 25, 
when considerable damage was done to gardens in 
different localities. Teosinte seed is too costly to 
risk planting it too soon on anything but a small 
scale. My Teosinte seed was planted the very day 
when the low thermometer indicated threatening 
frost, and I make it a rule to defer planting tender 
things, including cow peas, until I anticipate the 
last frost of the season. This puts the seed under 
ground, where it is secure and can germinate 
preparatory to springing forth as soon as the dan¬ 
ger is over. But the most serious drawback toward 
getting Teosinte to seed by planting eariy is that, 
as a matter of fact, it will not ripen its seed in the 
United States save in a few particularly favored 
localities in the extreme South. Even in Texas, it 
has failed to do so. So, if any one wishes to raise 
Teosinte seed, he will practically have to leave this 
country. But for a palatable fodder, green or dry, 
the unanimous report is that it cannot well be ex¬ 
celled. As it withstands drought so much bettor than 
corn, those who plant the latter for soiling purposes 
might find it to their interest to experiment with 
Teosinte ; with this advantage in favor of tbe latter, 
that it can be cut three times instead of only once. 
The last cutting must, of course, be made before frost. 
Buckingham County, Va. j. c. S. 
The Strawberry Barrel. —In The R. N.-Y. of 
May 8, you ask in Brevities, How is your strawberry 
barrel? so I will answer for mine, an account of 
which was given in The R. N.-Y. of March 6. I took 
the covering off of the barrel April 1, and it was 
frozen solid, yet I think that mine was covered too 
deep, for I had to reset several plants ; they were 
moldy. But all have started nicely, and at this date 
(May 14), they are all full of bloom. The ther¬ 
mometer stood at eight degrees below zero three days 
at one time the past winter. If there is no further 
mishap, I think that I shall get some fruit from it 
this summer. A. a. 
McKeesport, Pa. 
Seeding Timothy in Corn. —On page 365, you re¬ 
quest the experience of subscribers in seeding to 
grass alone. In a small way I have had excellent 
success in seeding Red clover and Timothy between 
sweet corn (practicing clean and level culture), at the 
last cultivation, either in July or early in August. 
This is the third season of this practice. By this 
means, I have a full crop from the land each year. 
On May 26,1 mowed a piece thus seeded last summer ; 
the clover was immense, already lodging before show¬ 
ing any bloom. I suppose that I shall mow it a 
second, and possibly, a third time. Of course, the 
corn stubble was rolled down this spring. The above 
plan secures a strong growth before winter sets in. 
Port Chester, N. Y. w. p. 
What Is a Scrub? —You ask, What is a scrub? 
Why, a scrub cow is a cow kept by a scrub farmer. 
To prove this, I will call your attention to highly- 
bred young animals of fine individuality which, by 
some mischance, have fallen into the hands of the 
scrub farmer, and you will see that they almost in¬ 
variably turn out scrubs ; while, on the other hand, 
a business farmer, by careful attention and much 
time and patience, will bring a very scrubby herd up 
to a high standard—when they are scrubs no longer. 
The reason why it pays better to start with purebred 
animals is because life is too short for one man to 
take the scrubs and improve them. A farmer might 
be able to invent a reaper ; but it would be a great 
deal easier and cheaper to buy one that some one else 
has been to the trouble to invent, j. grant morse. 
Madison County, N. Y. 
The Red Cross Currant. 
In reply to a recent article in The R. N.-Y., which 
speaks of this currant, I will say that I saw Jacob 
Moore recently, and had a talk with him on this sub¬ 
beet. Mr. Moore is an honest man, not inclined to 
exaggerate, and is known as a man whose statements 
can be relied upon. He says that he has fruited the 
Red Cross currant for nine years. During the first 
seven years not only were the berries large, but the 
clusters were remarkably long, and he selected this 
as the best of all his seedlings for this reason. The 
last two years, however, Mr. Moore says the clusters 
were shorter than in the earlier years. 
I askted him what his method of trimming was on 
the bushes of Red Cross currant. He replied that he 
gave the old bushes no pruning except to cut off the 
young wood occasionally for propagation. “Why,” 
said I, “will not this account for the reduced length 
of cluster ? Surely you cannot expect to continue to 
get long clusters of currants on old bushes which are 
left to grow wild, with three or four times as much 
bearing wood upon the canes as there should be.” 
Mr. Moore thought very likely this might be the 
reason why the clusters were shorter the last two 
years. I myself have little doubt that this is the 
reason. I could not expect to get a large cluster of 
any variety of currant without cutting back the wood 
so as to reduce the number of fruit buds nearly one- 
half each season. 
I asked Mr. Moore how much larger the berries of 
Red Cross were than those of Red Dutch. He replied 
that berries of Red Cross will average one-fourth 
larger than those of Red Dutch. I asked whether he 
had bushes of Red Dutch growing where he could 
compare them with Red Cross. Mr. Moore replied 
