316 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
MAY 17 
due to the man who carries on business rather than to the 
business he follows. In this case the system is all wrong 
for the land described; because it tends constantly to 
make the land less and less productive, and if persisted in, 
it is only a matter of time when the land will have to be 
thrown out of cultivation. What should be done ? 
For the present, increase the area pastured, and if there 
are not enough animals to consume the pasture, purchase 
sheep in the spring and cotton-seed meal, and fatten them 
on grass and from an eighth to a quarter of a quart of 
meal per sheep per day. The sheep can usually be best 
purchased at Home of the large stock-yards when the mar¬ 
ket is glutted. Young, thin sheep will be found most 
profitable. If the market does not suit, and clover hay is 
at hand, feed it with some kind of concentrated food. Shear 
in December (or earlier if the sheep are long-wools) and 
sell at convenience, alive or dressed. The pastures will 
improve and there will be a large quantity of valuable 
manure. Cotton-seed meal costs about $23 per ton f. o. b. 
The manure produced from feeding it will be worth, at 
commercial prices for the three leading elements, at least 
$20 per ton. Can the farmer afford to purchase this cotton¬ 
seed meal of the fertilizer dealer at $40 and upwards, 
when he can get nine-tenths of its fertilizing value for $3, 
and have the meal to feed to his animals. I am informed 
that the yearly output of this meal is 300,000 tons, and 
that about one-third of it is fed, and the two-thirds are 
used by the fertilizer manufacturers. All this implies the 
raising of more stock and clover hay and less Timothy. 
How Timothy hay on such soil can be raised and delivered 
in a market 12 miles from the farm at a profit, is more 
than the average man can understand—especially if the 
hired man receives 40 cents per hour and works eight hours 
a day. 
All work animals on the farm, except one or two for 
driving, should be brood mares and should bear colts in 
the fall. A good half-blood Percheron or Clyde can be 
raised until three years of age for $100. From three to five 
the young horse will earn its living, and it will then sell 
for $200. Why geldings are kept to do the farm work in 
summer, eat their heads off and kick the stables down in 
winter passes understanding. Do not forget that keeping 
horses affords more farm manure, and a chance to dispose 
of some of the Timothy, but do not feed it to the young 
colts, or much of it to the dams when giving milk. 
The writer of the letter says that dairying does not pay ! 
But if a cow is good enough to give a pound of butter a 
day—and there are quite a large number of that kind— 
and she can be kept for 10 cents a day, the food cost of the 
butter would be 10 cents per pound. During the winter 
the food should cost more than that; in the summer less. 
In the winter the manure would be worth, computed as 
above, one-half of the cost of the food. Many experiments 
have proven that skim-milk is worth a fifth of a cent a 
pound when fed to good, young swine. 
I can hear the corn and wheat laughing ready to split 
their sides, and how the mouths at the ends of their roots 
“ water” as they think of all the nice food which is being 
prepared for them at the barns! Raise a plant to feed an 
animal, to make fertility, to raise another plant, to feed 
other animals, to make more fertility. Raise fewer acres 
of grain and get larger yields per acre. Cut down expenses 
by employing fewer hands and purchasing less machinery ; 
even let the land have a few years of Sabbath rest, for it is 
better to lose a little and have the land improving, than to 
lose more by tilling, and have it grow steadily poorer. 
Millions of acres which should have been left to grow tim¬ 
ber, have been cleared and farmed at a continual and in¬ 
creasing loss. I fervently thank the Lord that some of 
these mistakes are being corrected and that some of the 
stony, seamed, rocky hill sides and sandy plains have been 
thrown out of cultivation, and it is to be hoped that our 
great-grandchildren will be wiser than we ana will learn 
to harvest the trees when they are ripe, while cherishing 
and protecting the undergrowth so that they may not pay 
the penalty we are suffering for breaking God’s physical 
laws. 
It must be kept ever in mind that small yield and poor- 
quality are the chief factors which produce loss in agri¬ 
culture. Thirty-five bushels of wheat per acre and the 
straw are worth at the present low prices $35; it costs not 
more than $20 to raise an acre of wheat on land suitable 
for its culture. Three tons of clover hay at two cuttings, 
are worth, for feeding purposes, $24; the manure from 
feeding it is worth nearly as much more. All the figures 
of yield and cost so far are taken from common actual 
occurrences. Many might be given which far exceed them. 
But how can these yields be procured on this land ? Take 
a grass or clover sod—the latter preferably—cover it with 
five to ten tons barn manure—not barn-yard—per acre be¬ 
fore the last day of February, plow as early as possible, fit 
thoroughly, and plant to corn,using the best variety for the 
locality. Find this out by actual test through several 
years. Cultivate shallow and often, and leave the ground 
as level as possible. Put a part of the crop in a silo; find 
out if this mode of disposing of it suits your conditions 
better than securing it in the common way, and then be 
governed by what has been learned. Just before the last 
cultivation mount a horse and sow rye in the standing 
corn. On this leachy land keep a living plant ever ready 
to take up the plant food which is set free, before it escapes 
into the subsoil. Plow and sow to oats the following 
spring, plowing the rye under; get the oats in early. Plow 
the stubbles as early as possible, even stand the oats in 
wide shock-rows and plow between them so as to 
hasten the work in order to have as long a time as possible 
to fit the ground, solidify it, and set free food for the 
wheat. In fitting the ground, plow but once; do all other 
work on or near the surface. And don’t forget to repeat 
that dressing of manure from which none of the liquids 
have been lost and from which none of .the ammonia has 
escaped, immediately after it has been plowed, so that it 
may be incorporated with the surface soil. Sow early 
(September 5), and drill with the wheat 100 pounds of 
some reliable high-grade fertilizer per acre, as a starter. 
Sow in March ten pounds of medium clover and one 
pound of Alsike seed per acre. Roll the land as soon as it 
is fit to go upon. Cut the clover early the next season, no 
matter if it is hard to cure—use hay caps. Cut the second 
crop early before the nights are cold, and it will cure 
easily. Small area, large yield, and superior quality are 
the watchwords till we get out of this row of stumps. 
Let’s take a little “ nooning ” till this surplus is worked 
off ; an over-fed animal gets to be dainty. 
HAY CAPS. 
My experience with hay caps began about 10 years ago 
when I was still at home on the farm. They were made 
of heavy twilled unbleached muslin one yard square, 
and were fastened to the cock with wooden pegs 
stuck through loops of twine in the corners of the 
cap. They cost about 35 cents each and more than 
paid for their cost in the first season. They have been 
used every season since and were last year still in service¬ 
able condition. They were never treated with oil or any 
other preservative, the only precautions taken being to air 
them thoroughly after every wetting and before putting 
them away in the fall. They will shed water almost per¬ 
fectly from a well made cock. Last year on the University 
farm we used caps made of wood-pulp paper. They cost 
about the same as the muslin ones and are about equally 
effective in protecting the crop. They are more readily put 
on, being heavy enough to need no fastening; but they are 
more cumbersome to carry to and from the field. 
In order that a hay cap may afford the most protection 
the hay cock should be made large, that is, it should con¬ 
tain from 150 to 200 pounds of hay, and when once put up 
in this way it may be left through a severe storm without 
damage, and need not be disturbed until the weather has 
settled, when a few hours’ airing will make it ready for the 
barn. It will be found difficult to get the men to make 
the cocks large enough; but it will take no more time to 
make two large cocks than three small ones. The time 
taken in carrying the hay along the windrow for the large 
cocks will be more than compensated for in the time taken 
to “finish up” the three small ones. In the many severe 
storms that we had in the harvest season last year, it was 
found that the caps withstood the rain perfectly, and I be¬ 
lieve that only in a single instance was one blown off by the 
wind. As to size, muslin caps a yard square for cocks four 
feet in diameter seem to be about right. Whether those 
of muslin or wood-pulp are best would be largely a matter 
of individual opinion. Both are excellent. To get the full 
benefit from the hay caps, one must have in readiness a 
sufficient number to cover five or six tons, and use them 
only when the weather is threatening. I should not make 
a practice of covering up every night whatever hay might 
be left out. Hay caps are also very serviceable in protect¬ 
ing grain, especially oats. Some of my most satisfactory 
experience with them has been on the oat crop. By the 
use of hay caps oats may be cut while the straw is still 
green enough to make fair fodder, and bound before they 
are nearly dry enough to be put in the barn, shocked in 
snug “hand stacks” of 50 to 75 bundles, left to cure thor¬ 
oughly and safely in any kind of weather, and they will 
comeoui with scarcely a colored grain. PROF. H. H. WING. 
Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y 
HAY NOTES. 
New Grasses. — We are often advised to sow a greater 
variety of grass seeds and are told that some fields in Eng¬ 
land will show as many as 50 different varieties to a square 
foot of ground. That’s all right—for England; but in this 
country we have neither the climate to grow such a variety 
uor the market demand for hay made of mixed grasses. 
Timothy and clover are our hay standards and probably 
always will be and there are many good reasons why they 
should. In the first place, the seeds are cheap and easily 
sown; both grow readily when sown with grain; they 
mature at nearly the same time and can be cut together ; 
they make as nearly a perfect ration as any two forage 
plants can ; while Timothy is rather hard on the soil, 
clover always betters its condition ; they will form a sod 
quicker than any others, and, taking everything into con¬ 
sideration, 1 see no reason why we should try to introduce 
any other kinds to take their places. There are other 
grasses that are as useful as these; but not in the meadow; 
Orchard Grass, Blue Grass, Red Top and one or two others 
are useful in the pasture, but for hay they aie not to be 
compared with Timothy and clover. 
Time to Cut.— The time to harvest any crop is when it 
is ripe, and the degree of ripeness depends upon the kind 
of crop and the purpose for which it is to be used. If we 
cut wheat or oats for hay, we would cut them while in 
the milk or just as the seed began to toughen : and corn 
for silage at the same stage; then why not grass for hay 
also ? At that stage of growth there is about sap enough 
in the stalks and leaves to mature the seed, and if cut then 
we get more nutriment than if cut at any other period of 
growth, and it will be distributed through the whole plant. 
If we wait longer, much of the nutriment will be con¬ 
densed in the seed, leaving the stalk nothing but straw, 
as is the case with wheat cut for the grain. I he feeding 
value of hay depends a good deal upon the kind of grass 
it is made of; rye straw has but little, oats has more, corn 
still more and Timothy more than any of them ; but we 
want hay, not straw, and we must cut it at a time when 
the feeding value will be distributed as equally as possible 
throughout the whole plant, and that time is when the 
stalk contains about all that it will ever get; the “ little 
more” that it might get would better—in perennials—be 
left in the roots for the benefit of the next crop, and some¬ 
times this must be done in order to make the next crop a 
possibility. 
Curing.— How much shall we cure ? is a question that 
must be decided each time that we make hay. To-day the 
weather may be fine, with a good west wind, and the 
ground very dry, and there may have been little dew 
last night; the Timothy was cut yesterday and raked up 
in the afternoon ; it is cured enough so far as keeping is 
concerned; but as it is rather heavy to handle, suppose we 
go over the field and throw the hay into “ tumbles or big 
bunches. In doing this, always make the “ tumble” on the 
ground, never on part of the windrow, because that 
will insure one damp forkful at the bottom of the pile, and 
if the weather is not just right these numerous damp fork¬ 
fuls will make a bad impression on the character of the 
hay. These tumbles will let our western breeze go through 
the hay and carry off tons of water that would otherwise 
be evaporated in the barn, and as the hay must be bunched 
before it is pitched (unless a loader is used), we have lost 
no time or labor, but have saved both. But if the wind is 
in the east we must be a little more careful in putting the 
hay into tumbles; it must be pitched as lightly as pos¬ 
sible and well shaken apart. If the ground is wet from 
rain we must allow still more time for curing, as the air is 
full of moisture arising from the ground and coming with 
the east wind. {Sometimes hay can be put away so green 
that it seems dangerous on account of its liability to mold, 
but it comes out bright, sweet and green in winter; at 
other times, hay apparently exactly in the same condition, 
will come out of the mow with a cloud of dust, showing 
that it is musty, and has lost that sweet odor and bright 
appearance which well-cured hay ought to have. It is 
safer, therefore, to get rid of as much water as possible 
while the hay is in the field, as by so doing we not only 
save handling the extra weight, but are surer that the hay 
will keep. 
Cocking Up.—I f hay can be cured and housed without 
cocking, so much time and labor will be saved. Some¬ 
times it is necessary to cut a field of grass and cock it, then 
to cut the wheat and by the time that is cut the cocked 
hay is ready to be hauled and no time is lost by men and 
teams waiting for the hay to cure. 
Hay CAPS are. first-rate things for hay cocks—if it rains. 
If a set of hands are hurrying to cock up a field of cured 
hay on account of a threatened storm, none of them can 
be spared to put on the caps. If a field is to be cocked and 
left for several days then, if caps are used, they will pay 
for their use if it rains. A - L - c - 
GRAIN HAY. 
O a.t Hay, Silo ys. Sun.—T he following correspondence 
needs no introduction : 
Will Professor E. F. Ladd, of the Geneva, N. Y. Experi¬ 
ment Station, give his opinion, based on his experiments, 
on the following questions :—What system of harvesting 
oats and corn will put the entire crops in the best condi¬ 
tion for the most profitable feeding ? In case of cutting 
oats for fodder while the straw is yet green and the grain 
in the milk, so that the straw and grain would make good 
feed, would enough be gained in the straw to make up for 
the difference in feeding value between the unmatured and 
the matured grain, the matured straw being considered 
almost worthless for feeding ? Of the two the cured fodder 
crop, or the grain and straw crop—which has the greater 
feeding value, and about what percentage of difference is 
there ? What is the comparative value of the corn crop when 
cut into the silo and fed as silage and when husked and 
the stalks dried, the whole of the crop in each case to be 
fed on the farm to milch cows ? Taking for granted that 
each method is practiced in the best manner, which is the 
better ? K - w ‘ 
Washington Hollow, N. Y. 
In regard to the oat crop I cannot answer with exact¬ 
ness, since we have made no complete investigation on this 
subject. From the experiments the data of which I have 
been able to gather, I am strongly of the opinion that it 
would be economy to cut the oat crop at the close of the 
milky stage—at about the dough stage of the grain—and 
cure the crop of hay and store it in the barn directly for 
feeding. I would not think it advisable to cut the oats 
early in the milk, for the increase in growth and nutritive 
matter must be very considerable after this period, judg¬ 
ing from my experience with corn. With the oat crop I 
cannot say how much increase there would be from the 
time when the grain has reached the milky stage until it 
becomes ripe. With corn the past season there was an in¬ 
crease of 70 per cent, in dry matter after the kernels were 
iu the milk, but when the corn was allowed to grow until in 
the dough stage and the kernels were glazing we secured 
within nine per cent, of a full crop. Until other experi¬ 
ments are completed, my advice would be to allow the oats 
to come to the dough stage before cutting. 
What are the apparent advantages of making the oat 
crop into hay rather than allowing it to mature fully and 
harvesting, thrashing and feeding it, as is customary ? l’he 
hay is more palatable and better relished by the animals 
than the straw; .it is also more digestible, and the ex¬ 
penses of thrashing, drawing to the mill and grinding are 
saved, and none of these processes adds anything to the 
nutritive value of the grain, and certain classes of animals 
seem to gain as well on the unthrashed grain and cured 
straw as on the same feed after the grain has been ground. 
This is true for hogs, as found in several trials. W ith 
ruminants much will probably depend upon the manner of 
feeding. 
The experiments which have been carried on at this sta¬ 
tion during the past year seem to demonstrate that corn 
silage has an advantage over the same product when dried 
and cured in the best possible manner as practiced by 
farmers, lessening every thing to be done by the most ap- 
