1911. 
767 
THE SHORT HAY CROP IN NEW YORK. 
Some of Its Lessons. 
I have driven over some of the representative sec¬ 
tions of New York, and the fanners I have talked 
with estimate the hay crop in their sections at least 
one-third short of an average crop. The cause was 
such cold weather in April that grass started nearly 
one month late. This was followed by a drought all 
through May, and up to the second week in June. 
There was then a week of frequent rains, and since 
the weather has been very favorable to plant growth. 
The rains and warm weather came too late to save 
the hay crop, for Timothy was already well headed, 
and most of the meadows in New York grow Timothy 
and mixed grasses. Where there are several kinds of 
grasses in the meadows some of them may get con¬ 
siderable growth with the present wet 
weather, and thicken up the bottom of 
the meadows, and so increase the crop 
somewhat. The partial failure of the 
hay crop is a very serious loss to New 
York dairy farmers. In the dairy sec¬ 
tion of New York the grass crop is the 
main crop. There arc many valleys, 
with washed-in alluvial soils along the 
streams. Farther back from these level 
lands are foot hills and slopes, often 
watered by springs. On these grow the 
most nutritious pasture grasses. The 
meadow grasses that grow so abun¬ 
dantly in the washed-in or alluvial soils 
along the streams, the pasture grasses, 
springs of water and the timber that 
furnishes fuel, lumber and fencing ma¬ 
terial are the natural assets. 
In these sections the grasses that 
grow most naturally without special cul¬ 
tivation arc dependent on weather con¬ 
ditions. The root system of Timothy 
and kindred grasses is but a few inches 
below the surface of the soil. They do 
not go to the lowest depth of soil for 
water and plant food. When the rain¬ 
fall is sufficient for the roots of these 
grasses to get their water and food in 
this upper stratum of soil, the farmers 
harvest a normal crop, while a severe 
drought in their growing season short¬ 
ens the crop as the natural result. The 
average dairy farmer’s prosperity rests 
on the amount of grass he can market 
in the form of dairy products, and in the 
last analysis, on the over-head supply of 
water, or the rainfall. Unfortunately 
many have made the mistake, which can¬ 
not be rectified for many generations, of 
destroying the forests on the hillsides, 
which makes the rainfall less uniform, 
and all farmers are suffering the penal¬ 
ties, one of which is the frequent short¬ 
age of their grass crops. The short 
grass crop to the dairy farmer means 
cither to sell part of his cows or spend 
more money for commercial food stuffs, 
and usually he cannot do this, pay his 
expenses, and make a comfortable liv¬ 
ing. During one Spring, following a 
severe drought which lasted nearly all 
Summer, I talked with a feed merchant 
in my town about the farmers’ grain 
bills. Fie told me he was selling many 
farmers grain and baled hay to carry 
their cows through from February to 
the middle of May, and their milk hardly 
paid their feed bills, and for this time 
their living expenses and expenses for 
hired help, keeping teams and running 
the farm continued just the same. lie 
told me that a majority were running 
up feed bills it w uld take them all 
Summer to pay. I think the above is a fair statement 
of the conditions of dairy farmers in southeastern 
New York, who produce mostly Timothy hay and 
mixed grasses for roughage during a very dry year. 
There are comparatively few farmers that are suc¬ 
ceeding in getting net returns far beyond the average. 
Because these have demonstrated some principles or 
truths, they can be regarded as leaders. They are 
showing us it is possible to put dairy farming on a 
paying basis, that will be more independent of 
weather conditions; that if the rainfall fails there is 
a way to make available the moisture in the reservoir 
under the soil, or the underground waterv<fins or 
cavities, when this is needed. They are doing it by 
growing crops which work for them all through a 
drought, when most meadow grasses and pastures 
THE RURAb NEW-YORKER 
cease to grow. The corn crop, Alfalfa, and clover 
can solve the roughage problem of the eastern dairy 
farmer. With a cultivated crop the farmer is not 
helpless in a drought. Fie can grow corn and bring 
up underground moisture for it when needed. By the 
frequent cultivation that keeps a finely pulverized layer 
of soil on the surface, he can use the force of capillary 
attraction and cause sufficient water to rise to the 
corn roots to keep it growing through a long drought. 
I have seen silage corn grown in this way that stood 
16 feet, and the estimate was 40 tons of green corn 
per acre, or more than sufficient roughage for one 
cow for one year. Comparing this yield with the 
Timothy meadow that produces about one ton of hay 
to the acre in a season of drought, it is seen that one 
way out of the average eastern dairyman’s troubles is 
to learn to grow maximum crops of silage corn. 
Another solution of his problem is to learn to 
grow plants with a large protein content, that they 
save buying much protein in grain, and that can get 
nitrogen from the atmosphere, and use all of the soil 
from which to obtain water and mineral food. As 
has been stated, the Timothy roots are all in the upper 
stratum of soil. Alfalfa and clover, and especially 
the former, makes a long, large tap root that pene¬ 
trates to the subsoil, and may get moisture several 
feet below the surface. The writer has seen Alfalfa 
growing rapidly on his own place, when Timothy had 
dried up and was not growing. Writing from my 
own experience of 20 years with Alfalfa I know it 
can be grown successfully on the alluvial soils of fair 
depth that are well drained, if one will study the 
needs of the plant, and then do thorough work at 
the right time. The dairymen who are growing sil¬ 
age corn, Alfalfa and clover are the ones that are 
making farming pay 25 per cent or more on their in¬ 
vestments, and have paid for their farms, or have 
gained a competency. I looked over the books of one 
of this class of farmers and they showed gross re¬ 
turns of $120 per cow, with less than half the usual 
expenses for grain. I know of no business in town 
or city that is paying as large a labor income as his. 
This year’s short hay crop will not be without compen¬ 
sation if it causes farmers to think and to understand 
that they are not entirely at the mercy of a climate 
that has lost its natural adjustment and balance, be¬ 
cause of the deforestation of the hillsides, and the in¬ 
terference of nature’s plan to bring water from the 
clouds and uniformly fill the springs, w. h. jenkins. 
R. N.-Y.—The pictures show how corn and clover 
may help in a dry season. Fig. 289 
shows corn 16 feet high and well eared. 
This was good seed with the soil well 
fitted and thoroughly cultivated. The 
other picture shows a crop of clover 
seeded after corn. Formerly this farmer 
had ample barn room for his crop, but 
special care of the clover has given so 
much fodder that surplus is stacked. 
WORK OF A GASOLINE ENGINE. 
The following is a list of what my 
gasoline engine does: Pumps all the 
water for the stock of the 125-acre farm, 
also for house use, including bath, etc.; 
also for the thrashing engines when in 
the neighborhood, which latter is no 
source of income to owner. It does all 
the washing (no washboard used any 
more). It runs the cream separator, 
churn, bone mill, sausage grinder in 
butchering time, emery wheel for grind¬ 
ing plow shares, mower knives, etc., 
two-hole corn-sheller, feed mill (corn 
and cob mill) for the stock on the 
farm, buzz saw for sawing old rails, 
limbs, etc., rip saw to size up anything 
needed for repairing machinery, etc., on 
farm; seed corn grader for the farm 
(and neighboring farms). It might be 
made do still more work, but as I am 
not the handiest man in the world, and 
I have put up all my own line shafts, 
etc., taken mostly from scrap piles and 
some pulleys homemade out of wood 
you will please excuse me if I cannot 
give you a longer list of what the 
“woman’s friend” (engine) does for us. 
I say the “woman’s friend” when think¬ 
ing of wash day, cistern or rain water 
all pumped and the dirty clothes of the 
farmer turned out nice and clean with¬ 
out any of the drudgery or dread of this 
memorable day. 
Some men ask me the question: 
“Which would you advise me to buy, a 
gasoline engine or a windmill?” This 
to me is a hard question. If I always 
knew about their mechanical ability I 
could answer more satisfactorily; an 
engine will not run on wind, like a wind¬ 
mill and some men. I have a two-horse 
engine which is heavy enough for aI7 
my work except grinding feed. I find 
it a little fight, as it works very hard. 
I grind from five to six two-bushel bags 
full of feed per hour (corn and cob). I 
have used my engine almost seven years 
and no outlay for repairs until last 
Spring. Then I had no break-down, but 
replaced some worn parts that cost about 
$4. As I said, it will not run on wind, 
as it takes about VA gallon of gasoline 
per week for the ordinary work, pump¬ 
ing the water, separating the milk from eight cows, 
and doing the washing. Of course we pump water at 
the same time that we run the separator, thus reduc¬ 
ing cost of running the separator to a minimum. Some 
men have many engine troubles due to one of two 
causes; either they made the mistake of buying a 
cheap, poorly-made engine, or are careless or me¬ 
chanically unable to run a grain binder or other 
machinery successfully on a well equipped farm. I 
know of two electric fight plants in this county, stor¬ 
age battery systems, run by two-horse size engines, 
giving perfect satisfaction. There are other uses an 
engine may be put to, but I have given only what is 
actually done, as I would not wish to lead any into 
high anticipations that are not practical. 
Seneca Co., N. Y. uriep yoder. 
THE EFFECTS OF STOCKS ON GRAFTED TREES. Fig. 287. 
TOO MUCH CLOVER FOR TFIE BARN SPACE. Fig. 288. 
SIXTEEN-FOOT CORN TO FIELP OUT A DROUGIIT. Fig. 289. 
