i89o 
THE RURAL NFW-YORKER 
i67 
desire to grow as much of their own feed 
as possible will often find the barley crop a 
valuable one for hay, I think, since it is 
often important to grow this crop for the 
purposes of rotation, seeding down, etc. It 
can be managed with the mower and hay- 
rake, and should make excellent food for 
dairy cows. 
At this station for several years we have 
cut oats early for hay, and with increasing 
experience have come to think more and 
more of the crop for feeding both horses 
and cows. By cutting early the grain does 
not shatter, and the straw, which is then 
really hay, seems very palatable and is 
much relished by our stock. I cannot see 
any advantage fora farmer in separating 
the grain from the straw only to put the 
two together again later in his cows and 
horses. It is too much like doing some¬ 
thing for nothing. 
The only objection to the whole system 
is that mice cut the oat heads very badly, 
and taint the straw. We have avoided 
this in part by keeping cats about the barn. 
Some of our farmers succeed admirably in 
stacking the oats, not drawing them to the 
barn until needed for feed. In this way 
they claim the mice do not bother. Other 
farmers after stacking and allowing it to 
sweat, run the oat hay through the feed- 
cutter, cutting the straw into short lengths. 
This material when piled in the barn is in 
such shape that the mice cannot burrow in¬ 
to it, because the finely cut straw drops 
back into the burrow as fast as made, effect¬ 
ually closing it. As the mice cannot run 
through the straw any more than through 
a bin of oats they can do but little damage, 
and are in sight where the cats can check 
them. In these times of low prices the 
thrashing bill is an item of considerable 
importance, and since there is no more feed 
on the farm after the thrashers have come 
and gone than before they came, I do not 
see the economy of their presence on farms 
where the grain is all fed out. 
W. A. HENRY. 
Wisconsin Experiment Station. 
FROM GILBERT TOMPKINS. 
The making of hay in California is an 
entirely different matter from the curing 
of grass so universal in the East. By far 
the greater part of what we call hay con¬ 
sists of the different grains cut a short 
time before ripening. Wheat, oats and 
barley are the most used, aud are valued in 
the order named. The only natural grasses 
that are cured are the wild oats which 
make splendid hay, and the burr clover, 
which is thought good for cattle, although 
rather soft for horses. The range system, 
by which bands of cattle, and especially 
sheep, have worn out many large tracts of 
grazing land, added to the overstocking of 
most pastures, has been very hard on the 
native grasses. Such grasses as Timothy, 
White Clover and other favorite fodders 
grown in wetter climates, are a complete 
failure in our long and dry summers; hence 
the almost universal use of the different 
grains. Whether the practice is profitable 
or not depends on circumstances. From 
oue to three tons of cured hay will gen¬ 
erally be made from an acre. 
The inclosed market report from the San 
Francisco Examiner gives the quotations 
for the varieties of hay mostly used: Clover, 
$7@§9 $ ton; wheat, §7@$14; extra do, §14.- 
50; wheat and oat, §7@$13; Alfalfa, $7@§10; 
barley, $6@§9.50; wild oat, §7@$11; barley 
and oat, §7@§10; compressed hay, §7@$12.50. 
The quality, which, of course, makes a 
difference in the sale value, depends very 
largely on the manner in which the hay 
has been cured. To get first-class results 
it must be cut before it is so ripe that the 
stalk becomes merely straw, and, on the 
othei hand, it must not be cut so green 
that it will turn sour. The method of curing 
is very simple: After it is cut it lies on the 
ground for a few hours and is then raked 
into windrows, in which it lies for about a 
day. ' It is then bunched up and put into 
hay cocks, which are generally four to six 
feet in width aud in hight; after a few days 
it is put into the stack and left there for 
from three to five weeks, when it is either 
stowed away loose or pressed into bales, 
which vary in size according to the mar¬ 
ket to which the hay will be sent. 
San Leandro, Cal. 
FROM C. M. LUSK. 
My experience in cutting oat hay has 
been very limited; still it has been exten¬ 
sive enough to satisfy me that oats are not 
a profitable crop to raise for green fodder. 
I believe that one acre of good clover 
hay cut when in bloom and well cured, is 
worth more than an acre of ordinary oats 
cut at any time previous to maturity. Oat 
hay is not good as a permanent feed to any 
stock. If I were to cut it before maturity, 
I would cut it when in the dough and cure 
in the sun and feed it as a grain ration. 
The objection to this method is that one 
cannot tell just how much to feed at a 
time. If it is to be cut as a green fodder 
it should be mowed and cured like hay. I 
do not believe it will pay under any circum¬ 
stances to raise oats to be cut green for hay. 
I have several times got out of oats for my 
horses, and have cut oats green at different 
stages of growth from the time they began 
to head out until they were ripe, and at no 
time was I satisfied. I would much prefer 
to have the oats thfashed and give a proper 
ration of the grain and the straw separate¬ 
ly. As to quantity of growth on an acre if 
cut green, according to my experience one 
can get the whole product on an ordinary 
wagon after it is dried. Green oats 
shrink wonderfully when dried. Upon the 
whole, I am totally opposed to the cutting 
of oats while green. 
Broome County, N. Y. 
FROM SAMUEL MILLS. 
I have never cut any oats for hay, and do 
not think the practice would pay here un¬ 
der any circumstances, unless when they 
had lodged early, so that they could not fill. 
I cut my oats, before they get very ripe, 
with a reaper. If the weather is good they 
are cured ready for the barn in one day. Then 
we put two bunches together for a bundle 
and haul them in as soon as we can. By this 
JERSEY SWEET POTATOES. 
An important local industry; suitable 
soil; manure; construction of fire- 
heated sprouting beds; two ways of 
covering the beds; planting out. 
Sweet potatoes can be grown in any 
soil that is easily worked, and well drained, 
but it is only in a sandy soil that they 
attain that dryness, flavor and color that 
mark the perfect sweet potato. In the 
counties of Salem and Gloucester, N. J., 
the culture of the sweet potato has been 
brought nearer a correct system, perhaps, 
than in any other part of the North, at 
least. In that section, wages aud manures 
are high, and we are compelled to study 
the best methods of growing and caring 
for what is the special crop here on most 
farms. Sweet potatoes follow corn in our 
rotation, and nearly one-fifth of our suit¬ 
able acreage yearly is given up to them, 
and on some light soils, where wheat does 
not pay, two crops are grown in succession. 
Often one-third of a farm is devoted to 
sweet potato growing, and an area of 30 to 
50 acres under this crop is not unusual. 
The sweet potato thrives best in fine, well 
rotted, horse manure, and our supply comes 
THE BATTLE OF THE “ NOVELTIES.’b 
“They All Run After the Farmer’s Cash!” Fig. 53. 
plan we get nice, bright oats, and excellent 
Btraw, that stock like nearly as well as 
good hay. Last year I raised over 1,000 
bushels that weighed 36 pounds per meas¬ 
ured bushel. They were common oats. Most 
farmers here cut their oats with a binder 
and have to let them get very ripe so that 
the grain is yellow, or if they cut the crop 
green the sheaves mold in the middle of the 
bundle, and both the grain and the straw 
are injured in either case. I have never cut 
any grain for hay. We do not need to do so 
here, for our soil is good for hay, and we al¬ 
ways have at least a fair crop, and where 
our ground is uuderdrained we are sure of 
a good corn crop and the fodder helps us 
out. 
Harlan, Ind. 
Cocking Fodder Corn.— I have failed 
with cocking fodder-corn. It will mold 
in our damp lake climate, however water¬ 
proof the cocks may be made, and then the 
grain is made about worthless by rats, 
mice, and chipmunks. j. g. 
Ohio 
by train load from New York City, and 
by vessel load from Philadelphia. New, 
fresh New York City manure is now quoted 
here at §2.50, and old “ composted ” manure 
at §2.75 per ton of 2,000 pounds freight 
included. The manure is usually placed 
in the field in the winter or early spring 
in composts of about 10 loads each, at 
convenient distances for disposing of it 
finally in the hill. 
The “seeds,” consisting of medium-sized, 
chunky potatoes, specially assorted the 
previous autumn, and carefully stored and 
kept, are sprouted by fire heat, no glass 
being used. Two or three different styles 
of sprouting beds are used; but I will de¬ 
scribe only the kind that is now considered 
the best, an outline of which is shown at 
Figure 50. For its construction select a 
piece of ground with a slight slope to assist 
the draft. In size the beds are from 50 to 
70 feet long, and from 12 to 14 feet wide. 
At the lower end a pit 3)4 feet deep is dug— 
see Figure 51 showing a section of the 
bed lengthwise through the center of the 
furnace and flue. ^The furnace and front 
wall are made of brick; tbe former should 
be three feet six inches deep, two feet six 
inches wide, and 28 inches high, all outside 
measurements. An iron door is used for 
the front of the furnace and the smoke¬ 
stack at the rear is made of boards one foot 
square and 10 or 12 feet high. The flue can 
be made of bricks, or eight-inch terra¬ 
cotta pipe. It starts from the upper part 
of the furnace—Figure 52—and runs to 
within six feet of the back end; at the fur- 
Fig. 50. 
nace end the flue should be 18 inches below 
the floor of the bed, gradually approaching 
to within six inches of the floor, at the rear 
end of the flue, as shown in Figure 51. It 
is best to cover the furnace and a few feet 
of the flue with earth, to prevent the escape 
of too much heat. Figure 52 shows the 
shape of the bottom of the bed pit, and a por¬ 
tion of the flue. Sleepers are laid four feet 
apart across the bed, and boards or slabs 
are laid on these for a floor. On this floor 
rich, mellow soil to the depth of eight to 
10 inches is placed; the sides of the bed 
above ground are made of slabs, or boards, 
and the earth that was thrown out from 
the pits is banked against them to the tops 
to prevent loss of heat. 
On these eight or 10 inches of soil the 
seed potatoes are placed, just far enough 
Fig. 51. 
apart to allow the little finger to be inserted 
between them. They are then covered with 
about 2}4 inches of fine light soil, that will 
not bake. There are two ways of covering 
or protecting the bed: the old way is to put 
rough hay over the bed to a depth of about 
two feet, and the other is to put on a small 
quantity of hay and cover all with frames 
containing heavy, oiled muslin arranged 
like glass sashes on a double bed. The lat¬ 
ter plan is the better, for as soon as the 
sprouts appear the hay can be taken off, 
and then one has only the frames to handle 
when the bed is to be watered or sunned 
but when the other method is employed, 
all the hay has to be moved every time, 
which is considerable work. 
The fire should be started a few days be¬ 
fore the potatoes are put in to get the right 
temperature. With us the potatoes are 
usually put in about April 1. The bed 
should then be kept nicely warm and 
moist, and as soon as the sprouts appear it 
should be opened to the sun on warm days, 
Fig. 52. 
and the fire should be kept up only at 
night. When the sprouts have reached a 
hight of six or eight inches they are ready 
for the hill. With us they are put out from 
about May 15 to 30; but these dates are too 
early for places further north, as the young 
plants are very tender. Fire beds of this 
kind have been very successful^here, and are 
used almost to the exclusion of the old 
style, or manure-heat beds. Further north, 
it might be best to use sashes in connection 
with the fire, but here it is not necessary. 
The main point of success in growing good 
plants is to keep a regular, moderate heat 
evenly all through the bed. Sometimes it 
is best to put in a small wooden vent over 
the top of the furnace, extending above the 
bed, to let off extra heat if needed. 
Salem County, N. J. 
Sts Crops in Four Years.— I have many 
times noticed land planted with early pota¬ 
toes which were dug in July and the land 
left idle. It might have been set with cab 
bages or sown with winter rye, keeping it 
in use more than balf the year. The follow¬ 
ing rotation gives six crops in four years: 
1. Clover and Timothy, cut first of July. 2. 
Cabbage, set after grass is cut. 3. Potatoes, 
dug in July. 4. Rye, sown after potatoes 
are dug. 5. Potatoes. 6. Clover and Tim¬ 
othy. J. A. w. 
Amesbury, Mass. 
