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THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
proved method; the loss of nutritive matter will be less in 
silage than in field and barn-cured fodder. Silage is-better 
relished by the cow than dried fodder, is more digestible 
and gives better returns when properly fed. Dr. Voelcker 
reports like results in a recent trial of silage and dried 
fodder. By putting the corn crop in a silo we save the out¬ 
lay for husking, shelling, milling and grinding the corn,— 
an expense of 12 to 20 cents per bushel—and in these days 
of close competition and small profits we should carefully 
consider whether the outlay will bring us a proportionate 
increase of compensation. This is certainly a matter worth 
thinking about, and let us see whether our old methods 
cannot be improved ; but in adopting the new we must be 
certain that we have learned the precautions necessary for 
success, else we may soon condemn them as did the farmer 
the teachings of those “scientific fellows.” Recently at 
an institute, a farmer came to me and bitterly denounced 
science, as he chose to call it; for when its teachings were 
put in practice the result was a failure, as he had found 
by trying the experiment of warming water for his herd of 
cows. He had actually got less milk when the animals 
received warm water than when they drank cold water. 
On inquiry, he informed me that the experiment was made 
in the winter; the cows were allowed to run out two or 
three hours each day, and during cold nights manure 
froze in the barn. Truly science was out of place. 
Geneva, N. Y. E. F. LADD. 
Barley Hay. —In the Rural of March 15th, I notice the 
article of Professor Henry on barley hay. I believe farm¬ 
ers generally do not appreciate the value of this product. 
I was “raised,” as the saying goes, on hay and oats ; that 
is, to regard good Timothy hay and oats as the very best 
feed for horses and all work animals. Experience has 
taught me that there are other valuable forage crops be¬ 
sides Timothy. I was introduced to barley in California. 
Twenty-five or 30 years ago I was doing business as a com¬ 
mission merchant in San Francisco, and was brought a 
great deal in contact with the farmers. In those days 
barley was the universal grain for feed in that State, and 
wild oats for hay. I kept a fine pair of ponies for a buggy 
team and at certain seasons of the year traveled about the 
State considerably. On one occasion in May, my wife was 
with me and we stopped at a little town in the upper part 
of Napa County. After leaving my wife at the hotel, I 
drove to the only stable in the place and as I gave up my 
team, gave directions about feeding them. The reply was : 
“We have no hay or oats.” “ Then give them some ground 
barley.” “ We have none, no feed of any kind except some 
fresh barley hay.” I felt distressed for my pets; it 
was a hot day and we had driven over 50 miles, 
and rough barley straw with long-bearded heads 
looked like a pretty poor supper; but as there 
was no other alternative I left with an injunction to 
take the best of care of them. I wai out early the next 
morning looking after my team ; they looked plump, had 
been well groomed and apparently had no complaints to 
make. We drove that day over 50 miles and put up at night 
under conditions very similar to those of the night before, 
“ no hay, no oats, no nothing but fresh barley hay.” The 
same thing was repeated the third night, and as there was 
no failing off in the appearance or the performance of the 
ponies, but rather an improvement, I began to think there 
was some merit in barley hay. 
On my return home I mentioned my experience to the 
driver of my heavy truck team. He said: “If cut and 
cured just right, barley makes the very best kind of hay. 
I’d rather have it than any other.” 1 soon after met a 
farmer from Santa Clara County with whom I was well 
acquainted. He said he planned to cut some every year to 
feed his teams while plowing and doing other heavy work. 
Said he : “it keeps their bowels in perfect condition, and 
when using it I feed no grain whatever except what the 
horses get in the hay.” 1 inquired if he kept that kind of 
hay for sale. He said that he cured barley for hay only 
for his own teams while plowing, but he could furnish 
some if desired. I ordered a car-load for my own use, and 
alter using it would never buy any other fodder when 
good barley hay could be procured. Wheat and oats make 
excellent hay when cut at the right stage and properly 
cured. 1 prefer barley hay for horses and wheat for dairy 
cows. j. B . K. 
Portland, Oregon. 
CLOVER SEED. 
1. Where do you buy your clover seed? 
2. When Is it sown, and with what crops ? 
3. When is the clover crop cut, and how is it 
handled ? 
4. When and how is the seed thrashed? 
5. When and where sold? 
6. What is done with the straw or haulm ? 
FROM A. GIFFORD. 
Clover seed is bought of some neighbor or local produce 
dealer. It is sown with winter wheat in April—four quarts 
each of Timothy and clover. The first crop is mostly 
clover, and the second year it is about the same unless it 
has been heaved out by frost in spring; if it has, the crop 
will be mostly Timothy the second year. The seed crop is 
cut in September with a reaper, and the gavels are carried 
on the table till it is full, when they are raked oft in the 
same lines, as the machine goes each time around the held 
so that they are left in rows. If the weather is good the 
cr^p will dry without being turned ; if not, it is turned 
over carelulli with a fork. When dry enough it is put on 
the wagon from the row with a four-prong, long-tined 
lork : the less it is handled the better ; for if it is very dry 
considerable seed is lost. As soon as the thrashers get 
through thrashing the grain, they go around with their 
machines to thrash and clean clover seed, which is done at 
one operation as ll it were grain. The seed is sold to local 
produce-buyers as soon as it is thrashed, and from then till 
the first of March. If the first cutting is taken for hay, 
and the second for seed, the crop pays as well as other 
crops on an average. Last year I cut and drew in eight 
acres in one day, and secured $62.50 worth of seed. The 
cost of thrashing is the heaviest item—75 cents a bushel. 
The straw is mostly left where it has been thrashed. Last 
winter I put mine on wheat, and the clover and wheat 
were better where the application had been made than in 
any other part of the field. The medium kind is sown 
when the first cutting is for hay and the second for seed ; 
when the large kind is sown it is pastured down closely 
until about June 10. 
Genesee County, Michigan. 
' FROM A. A. KENNEDY. 
Clover seed is usually obtained from local seedsmen, 
although many farmers retain apart of their crop for their 
own use, and distribute some, also, among their neighbors; 
but as the crop is generally marketed in the fall or early 
winter, comparatively few farmers avail themselves of 
their neighbors’ seed, and the bulk of the crop is purchased 
by seedsmen, and shipped to Chicago or Detroit or other 
available points, to be returned again, or replaced by 
shipments from other sections for use in the spring and 
at greatly advanced prices. Seeding is principally done in 
tne early spring and upon the winter wheat or rye sown 
the year before. Some farmers, however, seed with oats 
and spring rye, with very good success. The severe 
droughts of the past few years have made seeding to 
clover very uncertain. It is quite a common practice to 
sow Timothy seed in the fall with wheat, upon land to be 
seeded to clover in the spring. Meadows intended for a 
crop of clover seed, are mown early—about June 15—and 
if conditions are favorable the second crop matures seed 
about October 1st. When fully matured the clover is cut, 
either with a sweep-rake reaper and left in windrows, or 
with a mower set to cut high, in order to leave the green 
growth on the land for feed or a mulch, and also to avoid 
the necessity of handling a useless growth of straw or 
haulm. 
As soon as dry, the crop is gathered like hay and secured 
for the thrasher. Formerly the thrashing was done in 
cold weather, in order to get out all the seed; but with the 
improved machinery of the present time, the thrashing is 
done early and well. There are several “hullers” which 
turn out the clean seed directly from the straw, steam 
power being generally in use. The straw or haulm, is of 
no feeding value as handled here, and is used principally 
for bedding and litter for the stables and barn-yards. 
Prices for seed from first hands are usually fairly remun¬ 
erative, this year being an exception; but, owing to the 
uncertainty of the conditions necessary for making a fair 
crop of seed, and also to the fact that the farmers need the 
land for late pasturage, and, further, to the fact that a seed 
crop impoverishes the soil very greatly, it is not a profitable 
crop, taking the years together, and our farms would be in 
better condition, if the growth were pastured off, or al¬ 
lowed to fall and mulch the land. 
Ingham County, Michigan. 
FROM C. M. GROSSMAN. 
Most farmers in this section obtain their clover seed for 
sowing from their own crops or from neighboring farmers, 
who are known to have clean seed. Sometimes, however, 
it is bought of the merchants who handle seeds. It is 
generally sown on wheat in March or the fore part of 
April. Some like to sow on a light snow because then no 
stakes are needed, as their tracks serve as a guide in walk¬ 
ing back and forth. Others wait until later, and after 
harrowing with a light spike-toothed harrow sow the seed 
and follow with a roller; but the early-sown seed “ catches” 
best. After the grain has been harvested the clover is pas¬ 
tured unless the season is very dry, and the following season, 
in case the small clover is grown, the first growth isalways 
cut for hay, and then it is either pastured the rest of the 
season or allowed to stand for seed and cut when the heads 
are about all well ripened, which is usually in September. 
The time for doing this varies a great deal in accordance 
with the character of the weather. The large clover is 
pastured in the spring of the second season until the 
middle or last of May, and then the stock are taken off, 
and in some cases a mower is run over the field and all un¬ 
even growth and tufts or bunches left by the cattle are cut 
off. This kind always ripens first, usually in August, and 
also produces much the largest crop, generally twice and 
sometimes three times as much as the small clover. 
The mode of cutting varies according to the tools, etc., 
of the farmer ; but many farmers have old reapers or com¬ 
bined machines with self-rake attachments, which have 
been laid by since the advent of the self-binder, and these 
are used for this purpose, the seed-bearing haulms being 
raked off in small bunches and allowed to lie until 
thoroughly dry, being sometimes turned over if the gavels 
are slow in drying or very heavy. Another method is to 
attach a light platform to the cutting-bar of a mower, the 
length corresponding with that of the cutting-bar and of a 
width sufficient to allow the clover to accumulate in a 
small bunch or forkful, when it is raked off by a boy, who 
lollows with a hand-rake. This is a very good way, but 
hard on the boy. Another way practiced by a few is to 
mow it like hay, and after having allowed it to lie some 
time, rake it up in light windrows—a rather wasteful 
way, unless the work is done on a damp day or in the 
morning when the dew is on. When thoroughly dried it 
is hulled immediately in the field, being fed uirectly 
to the machine irom the wagons, or it is stacked to await 
the convenience of the larmer and huller as well as suit¬ 
able weather, lor in damp weather the straw is tough and 
very hard to thrash clean. The machines used are of 
various makes and are run by the same parties who thrash 
grain, and who go from farm to farm with their train of 
machinery, comprising a traction engine, water tank, 
huller or thrasher, and sometimes a stacker. Borne of the 
machines have a cleaner attached, which delivers the seed 
ready for market; others have to go around afterwards 
and finish up with a fanning-mill, charging, this season, 
75 cents per bushel for clean seed, or allowing the farmer 
to clean his own seed and charging 65 cents per bushel, as 
left by the huller. 
What seed is sold is usually drawn to the nearest town 
soon after it has been cleaned and is here bought by the 
grain dealers and disposed of by them in the same way as 
grain. Many, however, hold their seed and sell their sur¬ 
plus in the spring to farmers in their own neighborhood, 
generally realizing better prices. The main object in sow¬ 
ing clover here is not for the purpose of growing seed, but 
for pasture and hay ; the crop is allowed to ripen seed only 
when the pasture can be spared. Clover is also the main 
dependence of the farmers here for keeping or bringing up 
the fertility of the soil. The usual rotation is wheat or 
rye followed by clover, then corn or potatoes, then small 
grain again, much of the land never getting any manure 
except the clover. As the seed is really in this case a by¬ 
product, costing only the labor of cutting, and thrashing, 
raiding it is thought to pay fairly well; but a wide differ¬ 
ence in yield and price renders it a rather uncertain busi 
ness, as the yield ranges all the way from one to eight or 
nine bushels per acre, bringing from $3.50 (the price here 
now) to $5 or $6 some years. The straw is usually left in 
the field or barn-yard where.thrashed, and sheep and cattle 
are allowed to run to it, and by spring these have usually 
consumed most of it. Not much attention is paid to it, as 
it is not considered of much value. 
Lagrange County, Indiana. 
FROM EDWIN NYE. 
We cut the first crop of clover the last of June; the sec¬ 
ond is cut for seed about the last of August or first of 
September, or as soon as the seed is fairly ripe. We cut 
with a self-raking reaper which leaves the clover in good 
shape to handle. It is turned occasionally until thoroughly 
dry, when it is hauled into the barn. It is usually thrashed 
in the winter, as it is thought that dry, cold weather is most 
favorable for cleaning and saving the seed. Seed is usually 
obtained from neighboring farmers and from local dealers 
who buy it in Chicago—(we raise the medium clover). 
Sometimes we sow in March on winter wheat or rye and 
also with spring wheat and barley, and sometimes with 
oats. The thrashing is done by men who own and run a 
clover thrasher and huller, and go from farm to farm the 
same as those who thrash grain. The cost is from 75 cents 
to $1 per bushel. As soon as thrashed, the seed is sold 
to local buyers who supply the home market, shipping the 
surplus to Chicago. As to the profit: the yield is from two 
to four bushels to the acre. It is a cash crop and we find 
that having a few bushels of clover seed to sell helps out 
the profit side of the farm account, especially when the 
price is well up. The straw or haulm is not considered of 
much value. It is used for bedding and sometimes thrown 
in the barn-yard at noon for cattle and sheep to “ pick 
over.” 
We do not make a specialty of raising clover seed; only 
when we have a field of clover suitable for seed we save it. 
Outagamie County, Wisconsin. 
FROM A. M. WOOD. 
About the only kind of clover now raised for seed here¬ 
abouts is Alsike, though a small amount of the large red 
clover is thrashed for seed ; while the medium red has 
almost entirely gone out of date; for owing to the attacks 
of a fly or worm, it does not fill out sufficiently to yield 
much seed. Alsike seed may be purchased at the ware¬ 
house here, or of any reliable farmer who raises it. This 
and large red clover are cut at the same time as Timothy. 
The second cutting of medium red is in the fall. It is cut 
with a mower, and gathered the same as any crop of hay, 
excepting that care is taken that the seed does not shell; 
hence it is stored when a trifle green or damp. Around 
here we have a special thrashing machine to do the work, 
just as we have a separator for beans, and also one for 
wheat, oats and barley. Generally agents from the cities 
are glad to buy up all the seed raised, though there are 
warehouses where it may be disposed of. It is a very prof¬ 
itable crop, averaging anywhere from three to 10 bushels 
to the acre, and worth about $5 or $6 per bushel. Counting 
the cost of securing the crop, it is about as profitable as 
any other, though the acreage under it is limited in com¬ 
parison with that devoted to other crops. The straw is 
generally fed to sheep. 
Livingston County, N. Y. 
FROM S. MILLS. 
We raise our own clover seed or buy in the neighbor¬ 
hood of each other. It is generally sown with wheat and 
sometimes with rye, but not much rye is raised here. As 
a rule, the crop is cut with a reaper; though some cut 
with a mower when it is damp or the dew is on it, and 
then rake it with a spring-tooth horse rake into windrows. 
When we cut with a reaper, we rake it off in windrows. 
It is best to let it stand till some of the first heads begin 
to shell a little, so that as much as possible will get ripe. 
If frost comes one should cut quickly, as the crop will get 
no better afterwards. Almost all the seed here is thrashed 
on the Birdsell hullers right in the field. Some use two 
and some three teams and from five to seven hands be¬ 
sides the men with the machine. The seed comes from 
the huller nearly clean; but it must be run through a 
fanning-mill to make it fit for market. It is sold to com¬ 
mission-men at any of our railroad towns, most of it as 
soon as thrashed; but here we are at a disadvantage, as 
there is hardly ever more than one buyer in a town, and 
therefore there is no competition and the buyer has every¬ 
thing his own way. We consider it a paying crop if we 
get over a bushel to the acre; but we generally get two 
and sometimes as high as four. If the seed were the only 
gain from the land for the year, there would not be much 
profit; but we cut the first crop about the middle of June 
