955 
7f>e RURAL NEW-YORKER 
L Field of Fed Clover in Blossom. Fig. Kid 
xi&jSt: 
Rain-Proof Haycocks—Millet for Hay 
Experience from Florida 
'OETIIERX HAYMAKING.—In many parts of 
J the South, owing to general humidity and 
* „ v . • : • • * 9 4 ‘. 
fanners are paying the transportation "companies au 
exorbitant' rate for the’ tithe saVdd. f licit; tb'o, iii 
the most favored parts of the country, as regards 
haying in the humid sections at least, there are 
occasionally adverse seasons when rainproof hay- 
periods of frequent and sudden showers, haymaking cocks may he well worth while, 
is quite generally considered impractical. A few EARLY GETTING NEEDED.—Having mentioned 
years ago the Federal Department of 
Agriculture gave a good deal of pub¬ 
licity to a scheme of artificial evapo¬ 
ration for haymaking in such regions. 
Evidently this has been abandoned. 
Haycaps are occasionally advocated, 
and doubtless could he used to advan¬ 
tage, hut there appears little disposi¬ 
tion to use them. To my mind the 
simplest, solution of the problem is 
what I term rainproof haycocks. I 
evolved the method of construction to 
meet conditions here, and have made 
good hay for a number of years, with 
no serious loss. 
GETTING AND ItAKING.—I pro¬ 
ceed as follows: If possible the grass 
is cut on a day when indications are 
that showers are not likely to occur. 
No more is cut than can be handled 
during the day. As soon as the fallen 
grass has withered sufficiently to fall 
somewhat airily from the fork it is 
shaken up. If the crop is heavy it is 
shaken up again a few hours later. Tn 
extensive operations a tedder would be 
a necessity. Raking and putting Into 
cocks is done towards evening. Wind¬ 
rows are usually raked lighter than is 
the general practice to facilitate build¬ 
ing the cocks. That is the chief point: 
the haycocks are built, not jumbled, 
instead of turning the windrow fold 
on fold, as is the usual practice fin 
heaping bay. it is taken up by what 
may be termed the pick-up method. 
That is, the fork is thrust into the 
windrow, the hay lifted and advanced, 
the fork thrust again, lifted and ad¬ 
vanced until full. The site for the 
haycock having been selected, a slight 
rise for drainage if possible, tbe first 
forkful <is deposited in tbe same rela¬ 
tive position as picked up, that is, bot¬ 
tom side of forkful down. Successive 
forkfuls are picked up in the same 
manner, and each forkful is raised and 
set squarely on the center of the pile. 
The hay is pressed down firmly and 
the heap built as high as can he done 
without danger of having if topple 
over. By this method the size of the 
cock will depend on the length of the 
material. Tf skillfully done the freshly 
built cocks will be about twice as tall 
as wide. 
BUILDING TIIE HAYCOCK.—A 
little thought will make clear the rain¬ 
proof quality of the structure. The 
first forkful picked up and deposited as 
described is a dome-shaped heap. The 
drooping wisps of each succeeding ad¬ 
dition lit over the dome-like center in 
thatch-like manner. In fact, the great 
majority of individual stems droop from 
the center downward and outward. I 
have put up millet hay in this manner, 
and found after very heavy rains that 
the moisture had penetrated only a very 
few inches at the top of the heap, 
where it readily dried out. In this way 
the hay can he left any reasonable 
time for thorough curing, and often 
needs no further attention than to tilt 
the cocks over to dry the base thor¬ 
oughly just previous to storing. 
TIME AND CARE NEEDED.—When 
the weather is particularly trying as¬ 
surance can he made doubly sure by 
raking down the sides and finishing 
the heaps with extra small pointed 
tops. If not flooded from beneath such a haycock 
is well-nigh weather-proof. Built in this wav hav- 
A Manure Pile on a Farm near Lyons, Franee. Fig. 2dSee Ycrt Page 
satisfactory results, and have sold a considerable 
•quantity to a local liveryman, who after using it 
pronounced it equal to the best. Personally. I would 
not exchange first-class millet, hay ton for ton for 
the choicest Timothy. Why, then, is the crop not 
more generally prized? The principal causes can 
probably he epitomized in one sentence: Seeding too 
thinly, c ting »o late. Let us con¬ 
sider the last proposition first. There 
is a widespread opinion that the feed¬ 
ing of millet induces serious urinary 
disorders in horses, but it appears the 
injurious principle is contained only 
in the seeds. As this is not generally 
known, and as the seeds form quickly, 
in the great majority of cases the crop 
is cut too late. Thus it is not surpris¬ 
ing that unfavorable opinion has de¬ 
veloped. The proper time to cut is 
just as soon as the crop is fully beaded 
out. or to be moue exact, as it usually 
does not bead out all at once, when 
about one-third lias passed the bloom 
stage, one-third is in bloom and one- 
third has not yet developed bloom, 
there will be the best, development and 
quality. As millet bleaches and loses? 
quality rapidly by weathering it should 
be cured as far as possible in windrow 
or cock. 
SEEDING THE CROP.—As to seed¬ 
ing, not less than one bushel of seed 
per acre should be used. A farmer not 
well acquainted with the crop and 
accustomed to sowing only a few quarts 
of clover seed per acre, which is com¬ 
parable in size to millet, may easily 
fall into the error that a peck or so of 
millet seed per acre is a great plenty, 
hut it is not. Millet tillers very little, 
and if sown thinly the result is a light 
crop of coarse stems, instead of tbe 
dense mass that may be had by heavy 
seeding, that will roll up big fat wind¬ 
rows of bay. But heavy seeding alone 
will not insure a full stand. Soil con¬ 
ditions and weather conditions are 
both important factors. The seeds are 
small and must be near the surface, so 
the best plan is to prepare the soil 
finely, and if at all dry wait until just 
before or just after a rain; just before 
is preferable, sow evenly, broadcast 
and harrow in with a spike-tooth har¬ 
row and finish with plank drag or 
roller. It is a quick crop, about eight 
weeks from sowing to cutting, and 
properly handled. I believe it could be 
made the great insurance against bay 
shortage when the regular hay crop 
fails. It is a warm weather crop, but 
not tropical. Here it does best sown 
in March, but throughout the greater 
part of the country it will probably 
thrive best, sown from .Tune 1 to July 
15. My experience has been confined 
to the variety known as Golden or 
German millet. d. i. habtman. 
Florida. 
R. X.-Y.—As a general caution we 
hesitate to advise feeding millet bay 
to horses and mules. We have too 
many reports of injury from such feed¬ 
ing. We think Mr. Hartman is right 
in saying that the seeds are responsible 
for the trouble, but comparatively few 
farmers will cut this fodder early 
enough. We have found millet hay ex¬ 
cellent for cattle feeding hut. as with 
Crimson clover hay. we do not feed it 
to horses. 
Thrashing Wheat as Harvested 
O 
cocks are rather easily tipped over until they have 
had several hours lo settle. This feature may he a 
serious handicap in regions subject to squalls; a 
consideration that does not apply here at the season 
involved. It requires quite a hit of extra time to 
handle hay in this manner as compared to the slap¬ 
dash methods suited to the climatic conditions of 
commercial hay-producing regions, but Southern 
Bunching Uy the Alfalfa Hay. Fig. 2U5 
millet as a hay crop, 1 will venture the opinion that 
the merits of this crop are not properly appreciated. 
In fact, the general impression seems to be that it 
is not much of a crop, and a poor sort of feed at 
that. It. appears to me these conclusions are wrong 
on both counts, and the causes of the error not far 
to seek. I have grown several successful crops 'in 
a small way, the best of which produced fully two 
tons per acre of well-cured luiy. I have fed mules 
such hay exclusively for long periods, with' entirely 
,X' page s.°,s ii. B. K. asks whether 
wheat will thrash properly the 
day it is cut. This is not Spring wheat, 
but it would be ripe when cut. 1 would 
never have given my little experience as a prac¬ 
tical farmer but for the closing sentence of The 
R. N.-Y. in answer to this inquiry, which is, general 
advice, and theory will not be of any particular 
value in this case. If there ever was a time when 
it. is Imperative that we discard what we think and 
what the other fellow thinks and substitute in its 
stead what we really know we do know, it is now. 
Under present labor conditions the whole country 
over we must go at what we have to do with all 
