lht  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
823 
Notes  on  Handling  Cl  over  Hay 
Salt  in  the  Haymow 
T  is  quite  a  common  thing  for  farmers  to  use 
salt  when  putting  green  or  wet  hay  into  the 
mow.  Others  use  lime,  and  we  have  known  farm¬ 
ers  to  use  fine  charcoal  with  good  results.  The  ob¬ 
ject  is  to  try  to  prevent  heating  in  the  mow.  There 
have  without  question,  been  cases  of  spontaneous 
combustion  arising  from  green  clover  not  well  packed 
down.  The  object  of  the  salt  or  the  lime  is  to 
absorb  moisture  from  the  hay  and  thus  delay  fer¬ 
mentation.  It  is  also  claimed  that  the  salt  has 
some  effect  in  killing  or  weakening 
the  bacteria  which  are  responsible  for 
some  of  the  ferments.  We  know  farm¬ 
ers  who  claim  there  is  nothing  what¬ 
ever  to  this  salt  theory,  but  many  firm¬ 
ly  believe  in  it.  The  plan  is  to  spread 
a  load  of  hay  evenly  over  the  mow  and 
then  scatter  about  10  lbs.  of  salt  over 
it — stamping  the  hay  down  well.  The 
chemists  seem  to  think  lime  is  better 
than  salt  except  that  it  makes  the  hay 
very  dusty. 
As  to  the  use  of  salt  in  putting  in 
green  clover  hay  it  does  pay  both  as 
keeping  clover  good,  and  it  makes  it  a 
better  feed,  as  the  salty  taste  is  relished 
by  stock,  and  it  is  eaten  better.  In  put¬ 
ting  it  on  it  should  be  done  when  the 
clover  is  put  in  the  mow.  Spread  a  load 
over  the  mow  and  sow  on  a  little  salt  as 
you  would  sow  grain  in  the  field,  then 
another  load  and  a  little  more  salt,  till  - 
the  clover  is  all  in.  It  has  proved  very 
successful  in  keeping  the  feed  in  good 
Shape.  GEORGE  H.  SAVAGE. 
Onondaga  Co.,  N.  Y. 
in  the  drying  plant  will  pass  away  through  the 
leaves  if  you  give  it  a  chance.  In  order  to  do  this 
we  must  keep  the  leaves  in  action,  and  not  let 
them  dry  up  crisp  at  once.  When  hay  is  put 
promptly  into  the  cock  or  windrow,  the  leaves  are 
kept  from  the  direct  sunshine  and  they  act  to 
throw  off  water,  while  if  they  are  dried  too  soon 
the  water  left  in  the  stems  will  not  be  fully  taken 
out,  unless  the  hay  is  left  so  long  that  most  of  the 
leaves  dry  and  drop  off.  That  is  why  the  broad¬ 
less  at  each  corner,  tied  to  the  middle  of  a  small  stick 
10  in.  long.  The  operation  follows : 
1.  Lay  your  cap  Hat  and  lay  your  sticks  on  it;  fold 
the  cap  and  roll  it  so  as  to  prevent  the  tangling  of  the 
strings. 
2.  Take  a  load  on  a  wheelbarrow  and  going  be¬ 
tween  the  rows  toss  the  caps  to  cocks  on  either  side. 
3.  Following  up,  lay  the  roll  on  the  cock,  unroll 
it  and  the  strings  will  fall  in  their  proper  places.  In¬ 
sert  one  end  of  the  stick  under  the  cock,  give  it  a  lift 
so  that  the  other  end  rests  on  the  ground,  it  will  be 
held  securely.  If  the  string  is  too  long,  give  it  a 
quick  roll  around  the  stick  ;  if  too  short  stick  it  any¬ 
where  in  the  cock.  In  removing  the  caps,  roll  them 
up  as  before  and  they  are  ready  for  the 
next  job.  All  this  can  be  done  quickly. 
I  have  had  clover  out  through  a  rain 
of  11  days  and  come  in  sweet  and  sound. 
One  year  I  cut  a  field  of  Hungarian,  and 
cocked  it  up  in  small  cocks-  and  as  the 
weather  was  threatening  put  on  hay 
caps.  During  the  next  week  I  had  three 
or  four  opportunities  to  turn  the  cocks 
over  and  double  them  up  until  I  had 
»  cocks  nearly  as  high  as  my  head.  Then 
the  sun  came  out  and  we  hauled  in  11 
loads  as  beautifully  cured  as  any  crop 
I  ever  had.  It  wras  one  of  a  few  Sun¬ 
days  that  we  did  such  work  in  a  do;zeu 
years.  Monday  it  rained  again,  and  kept 
going  for  a  week.  What  would  we  have 
had  to  put  in  if  we  had  not  used  these 
simple  hay  caps?  One  cock  of  clover 
had  no  hay  cap  and  it  wras  rotted. 
Massachusetts.  j.  n.  p. 
Clover  Hay  So  Thick  You  Can  Hardly  Drive  a  Hay  Loader  Beticeen  the  Wind¬ 
rows.  The  Result  of  Using  Lime,  Acid  Phosphate  and  Certified  Seed. 
Value  of  Alsike  Clover 
•We  had  the  same  experience  with 
Alsike  you  speak  of.  Although  Alfalfa 
is  a  good  crop  here,  on  two  separate 
pieces  where  water  bothered  and  could 
not  be  drained  to  good  advantage,  Alsike 
has  proved  a  good  producer  in  every  in¬ 
stance.  F.  M.  j. 
Oneida  Co.,  N.  Y. 
I  cut  clover  when  the  first  few  blossoms 
begin  to  turn  brown.  It  is  cured  in  the 
swath.  In  good  hay  w’eather  I  cut  the 
clover  in  the  morning.  The  next  morn¬ 
ing  I  rake  it  up  after  the  dewT  is  off.  In 
the  afternoon  it  is  ready  to  draw.  I  use 
the  mower,  self-dump  rake  and  slings.  I 
think  nice,  sunshiny  weather  most  neces¬ 
sary  to  make  good  clover  hay. 
GEO.  H.  KRUSE. 
Cattaragus  Co.,  N.  Y. 
I  would  not  use  either  lime  or  salt  upon 
green  or  wet  hay  in  order  to  preserve  it 
from  mold  or  decay.  'With  the  judicious 
use  of  the  tedder  and  side-delivery  rake 
we  are  able  to  secure  our  hay  sufficiently 
cured  for  safe  storage.  We  have  had  no 
experience  with  the  above-named  pre¬ 
servatives.  Just  to  show  that  we  are 
learning  a  little  “every  day  in  every 
way,”  we  send  a  picture  which  may  in¬ 
terest  you;  it  was  taken  last  July.  (See 
cut  at"  top.)  We  are  just  learning  that 
grass  should  be  cut  in  the  afternoon, 
using  judgment  and  skill  in  use  of  ted¬ 
der  and  rake.  N.  T.  LACEY  &  SON, 
Oneida  Co.,  N.  Y. 
In  reference  to  Red  clover,  I  find  the 
old  grandaddy  methods  are  extinct. 
They  thought  it  had  to  lie,  and  all  dry 
away  and  then  stand  in  cock  for  a  week. 
Then  it  was  put  in  mow,  leaving  doors 
open  for  air  for  a  week,  contrary  to  our 
principles  of  today.  My  plan  has  al¬ 
ways  been  to  cut  as  nearly  in  full  bloom 
as  possible,  and  in  good  weather,  one- 
half  day’s  sun  will  cure  generally  so  as 
to  rake  and  cock  up.  Then  if  the  weather 
is  good  next  day,  turn  cocks  into  two  or 
three  parts  for  an  hour  or  two  in  sun  or 
wind  and  put  it  in  mow.  Keep  barn 
closed  up  after  it  is  in  mow.  I  find  this 
method  saves  most  of  the  leaves,  and 
never  have  any  mold  or  turn  brown.  The 
natural  juice  in  hay  will  not  spoil  it,  if 
you  simply  get  the  water  out.  Hay  ted¬ 
ders  are  essential,  in  clover  belts  to  help 
the  work  along,  and  haying  is  mighty 
slow  without  a  good  horse-fork  also.  Our 
main  problem  today  is  to  grow  clover  in¬ 
stead  of  curing  it,  and  lime  is  the  only 
salvation  I  know  that  solves  the  problem. 
G.  M.  KELLOGG. 
Schuyler  Co.,  N.  Y. 
Modern  Brooder-house  and  yards  on  a  South  Shore  Roaster  Plant.  Photo  by 
Dr.  P.  T.  Woods. 
This  question  of  the  open  or  closed 
barn  comes  up  every  year.  At  first 
Part  of  a  Yard  of  South  Shore  Soft  Roasters  About  Ripe  to  Market.  Photo  by 
Dr.  P.  T.  Woods. 
Every  year  gives  us  increased  re¬ 
spect  for  Alsike  clover.  We  consider  it 
a  good  plan  to  mix  a  little  Alsike  seed 
with  the  Red  clover.  There  are  always 
damp  or  sour  spots  where  the  Alsike 
will  help  thicken  the  stand.  Some 
farmers  seem  to  think  Alsike  will  not 
do  well  where  lime  is  used.  That  is 
a  mistake.  In  New  Hampshire  ex¬ 
periments  in  using  lime  showed  a  great 
increase  in  the  Alsike  crop  from  an 
application  of  limestone.  The  Alsike 
seems  to  be  able  to  adapt  itself  to  al¬ 
most  any  condition  offered. 
A  Pure  Water  Cistern 
ON  page  739  G.  F.  S.  inquires  as  to 
best  way  to  build  cistern  so  that 
water  will  be  all  right  for  drinking.  He 
has  a  slate  roof  with  1,176  sq.  ft.  of 
surface,  which  will  furnish  2S.000  gal. 
yearly,  assuming  a  rainfall  of  40  in. 
lie  will  have  abundance  of  pure 
drinking  water  if  he  will  build  the 
cistern  pi’operly  and  make  the  connec¬ 
tions  as  they  should  be  made,  provided 
a  little  attention  is  given  whenever  it 
is  necessary  to  run  additional  water 
into  the  cistern.  A  filter  is  unneces¬ 
sary.  Indeed,  a  filter  is  always  a 
source  of  danger,  as  it  may  easily  be¬ 
come  a  culture  medium  for  bacteria. 
A  cistern  S  ft.  in  diameter  and  10  ft. 
deep  will  hold  about  3,000  gal.  If 
greater  capacity  is  needed  it  should  be 
made  deeper  rather  than  to  increase 
the  diameter,  as  the  larger  diameter 
would  be  troublesome  to  taper  suf- 
ficently  at  the  top. 
When  building  the  cistern  place  a 
4-in.  sewer  pipe  in  the  wall  near  the 
thought  one  would  say  that  the  doors 
should  be  left  open  so  that  the  wind  may  “dry  out” 
che  hay.  What  usually  happens  is  this:  The  hay 
heats  and  steams  and  considerable  moisture  arises 
leaved  plants  like  clover  or  bean  vines  are  best 
cured  In  the  cock  or  windrow.  It  also  explains  why 
hay  caps  often  improve  the  quality  of  the  hay. 
top  and  continue  this  in  a  ditch, 
slightly  upgrade  to  the  down-spout,  which  should 
be  of  the  same  diameter.  Each  of  the  joints  and  the 
junction  with  the  down-spout  should  be  carefully 
from  it.  The  air  from  outside  is  usually  cooler  than 
the  hay,  and  the  result  is  that  the  steam,  instead  of 
passing  out  of  the  barn,  condenses  in  the  hay,  often 
so  much  as  to  keep  it  quite  damp.  When  the  barn 
is  kept  closed  the  steam  arises  from  the  hay,  but 
as  no  cooler  air  enters  it  does  not  condense  on  the 
surface  but  passes  out  of  the  top  of  the  barn  or 
through  the  ventilators.  Then,  as  to  “curing”  hay, 
we  now  understand  that  this  is  done  by  dry  air, 
not  so  much  by  direct  sunshine.  Most  of  the  water 
The  Use  of  Hay  Caps 
When  I  was  farming  I  made  a  number  of  experiments 
in  the  use  of  hay  caps.  The  conclusion  I  reached  was 
that  all  that  is  required  is  the  protection  of  the  top  of 
the  cock.  A  square  yard  is  large  enough  for  any 
cock,  and  common  sheeting  is  entirely  satisfactory. 
It  will  shed  the  rain  and  will  not  prevent  the  evapora¬ 
tion  of  moisture  underneath,  like  heavier  material.  Rut 
how  to  apply  the  caps  was  a  problem.  Stones  make  too 
much  of  a  load  to  carry  about.  Driving  stakes  in  the 
ground  is  too  much  work.  Finally  I  found  the  simplest 
solution  of  my  problem,  namely  a  cord  3  ft.  long  or 
cemented.  At  the  top  of  the  cistern,  or  almost  at 
the  top,  an  equal  sized  overflow  pipe  should  be 
provided  and  carried,  slightly  down  grade,  to  lower 
ground,  and  this  pipe  must  be  carefully  covered  at 
the  end  with  fine  mesh  galvanized  wire  screen  to 
prevent  vermin  entering  the  cistern.  The  last  tile 
should  be  secured  by  transverse  wall.  The  top  may 
be  tapered  to  about  2  ft.  and  finished  against  a 
strong  iron  hoop  made  from  a  wagon  tire.  A  neatly 
fitting  cover  should  be  made  and  secured  in  posi- 
