JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
June  23,  1904. 
.nr)j 
Haymaking, 
Tlie  value  of  good  hay  or  clover  has  fallen  to  such  a  low 
])oint  that  the  farmer  of  hay,  if  he  were  in  the  same  happy  posi¬ 
tion  .as  the  jiroducers  of  other  articles  of  merchandise,  could 
say,  "I  will  not  continue  to  produce  hay  at  a  loss”;  but  he 
is  not  in  that  happy  position,  for  he  must  either  go  on  hay¬ 
making,  buy  very  dear  cattle  (which  will  pay  no  rent  for 
grazing,  and  certainly  no  profit  for  him),  or  he  can  give  up  his 
land.  As.  however,  he  could  not  get  out  in  less  than  eighteen 
months,  he  must  make  the  best  of  things  as  they  are,  and  wo 
think  that  in  view  of  the  extreme  competition  for  .store  cattle 
which  we  see  on  every  hand,  the  best  of  things  on  a  large 
acreage  of  grass  is  haymaking.  Certainly  the  price  of  hay  is 
miserably  low,  and  the  stocks  of  oid  hay  are  large,  but  nothing 
connected  with  agriculture  is  more  elastic  than  the  price  of  hay, 
and  nothing  costs  less  to  keep  than  a  stack  of  it  well  got.  If 
the  hay  lie  really  good,  it  may  be  kept  for  years,  until  the 
demand  should  exceed  supply,  when  a  large  profit  may  be 
obtained.  Such  prices  as  £o,  £6,  and  even  £7  per  ton  are  fre- 
fpiently  paid  for  good  old  hay,  and  will  be  again. 
A  very  important  matter  is  the  mowing  and  harye.sting. 
Perhaps  we  may  not  err  very  seriously  when  we  advise  our 
friends  to  employ  the  best  machine,  which  can  easiiy  be  pro¬ 
cured,  to  cut  the  hay  ;  but,  in  the  event  of  no  good  machine 
being  at  hand,  we  think  that  men  should  be  employed  to  mow. 
In  some  parts  of  England  tl>e  mowing  does  not  justify  very  high 
wages,  but  the  way  in  which  the  workmen  carry  out  their  con¬ 
tracts  is  excellent  evidence  that  they  find  few  monetary,  diffi¬ 
culties  made  by  their  employers.  We  all  know  that  an  article 
of  general  consumption  which  is  very  cheap  is  an  excellent  invest¬ 
ment,  and  we  can  see  no  better  form  of  investment  just  now 
than  in  the  stacking  and  proper  thatching  of  well  got  hay. 
CHover  is  always  easy  to  sell :  it  always  has  a  ready  price, 
which  fluctuates  much  less  widely  than  that  of  hay ;  but  it  is 
sometimes  difficult  to  save  in  fine  condition.  A  valuable  part 
of  the  clover  plant  is  the  leaf;  but  a  dry  crop  of  clover  is 
seldom  seen  with  the  leaf  intact.  Too  often  the  leaf  has  been 
destroyed  by  rough  usage,  and  either  left  in  the  field  or  scat¬ 
tered  in  small  particles  at  the  stack  side.  There  is  another 
portion  of  the  hay  crop  which  may  be  as  easily  allowed  to  run 
to  waste,  i.e.,  the  seed  of  the  rye-gra.ss.  If  rye-grass  he  not 
cut  before  tlie  seed  is  quite  ripe,  much  of  the  seed  may  probably 
lie  lost,  and  the  value  of  the  hay  correspondingly  reduced.  The 
fact  also  of  the  grass  having  attained  to  such  a  state  of  maturity 
as  to  have  shed  its  seed  is  evidence  that  the  leaf  and  stem  have 
commenced  the  period  of  their  Avithering  and  eventual  decay, 
and  the  crop  is  losing  weight  and  quality  with  every  day  it  is 
allowed  to  stand  uncut.  The  same  argument  holds  good  with 
regard  to  the  grasses  of  which  hay  chiefly  consists.  The  hay 
sliould  be  cut  before  the  gra.sses  kave  shed  their  seeds.  We 
should  much  prefer  to  err  on  the  side  of  eariiness  in  cutting,  for 
after  a  certain  time,  gain  in  Aveight  of  crop  is  discounted  by  a 
falling  off  in  quality. 
Having  got  our  clover  or  hay  cut,  then  comes  the  anxious 
time  of  making  it,  AAffien  otir  interest  in  the  condition  of  the 
barometer  is  often  painfidly  acute.  Some  people  begin  shaking 
out  the  hay  as  soon  as  it  is  doAvn,  but  unless  the  Aveather  is 
very  hot  Ave  should  Avait  a  couple  of  days.  Then  the  SAvathes 
sliould  be  turned  by  hand  forks.  If  the  conditions  are  favour¬ 
able,  the  day  folloAving  should  see  the  crop  dry  and  safel}*  in 
cock,  if  not  in  stack. 
Crop,s  vary  very  much,  aiid  vei  y  heavy  ones  require  a  much 
longer  time  to  make  than  light  ones.  When  the  lightness  is 
attriliutable  to  a  recent  period  of  drought,  very  little  nature 
may  be  left  in  the  hay,  and  little  Avill  be  gained  by  going 
through  the  usual  procedure.  Such  hay  is  best  put  quickly 
into  small  cocks,  and  stacked  after  being  in  cock  a  couple  of 
days. 
Haymaking  machines  are  much  used  bv  some  people,  and 
e.specially  in  grass  districts  Avhere  labour  is  difficult  to  obtain  ; 
l>ut  A\e  think  their  nse  tends  toAvards  knocking  the  hay  about 
too  much,  and  they  are  quite  usele.ss  for  clover.  Hands  and 
forks  must  be  used  amongst  clover  if  the  leaf  is  not  to  be  lost. 
Mie  sAvathe  should  be  deftly  turned  OA^er  liy  a  tAvi.st  of  the  fork, 
leaving  it  OA'ei'turnod,  but  otherAAUse  intact.  American  I'akes  or  | 
tipplers  are  generally  u.sed  to  get  clov'cr  up,  but  they  are  liable 
to  knock  off  the  leaves,  and  if  the  hands  and  time  can  be 
spared,  Ave  prefer  to  cock  clover  entirely  AA'ith  the  fork. 
Regarding  the  best  time  to  cart  into  stack.  If  the  hay  or 
clover  has  never  been  rained  on  since  it  Avas  cut,  all  that  is 
necessary  is  to  make  sure  that  there  is  not  sufficient  sap  left 
in  the  stems  to  cause  undue  heat  in  the  stack.  If  rain  has 
fallen,  and  the  hay  has  been  very  Avct  after  being  nearly 
Avithered,  it  mu.st  be  got  dry  again,  or  it  Avill  inevitably  mould 
in  the  stack,  and  mouldy  hay  is  almost  useless.  A  little  heat  iji 
the  stack  is  rather  beneficial  than  otherAA'ise  Avhen  the  material 
is  coarse,  and  is  AAanted  for  general  farm  nse. 
Hay  Avhich  has  become  A^ery  much  Aveathered — in  fact, 
almost  hopelessly  spoilt,  may  be  much  improved  by  soAving  a 
quantity  of  cattle  condiment  over  the  surface  of  the  stack  after 
each  load  has  been  put  on.  A  moderate  quantity  of  common 
salt  put  on  Avith  it  is  also  beneficial. 
Work  on  the  Home  Farm. 
We  have  had  a  splendid  week  for  Avork,  and  noAv,  after  Ave  had 
begun  to  long  for  a  shoAA’er,  AA^e  have  had  a  beautifully  soft  and 
gentle  rain.  The  effect  on  vegetation  is  remarkable,  and  the 
only  fear  is  that  the  early  SoAvn  barleys  may  be  too  gross.  The 
late  barley,  hoAvever,  Avill  benefit  greatly,  and  perhaps  may  more 
than  realise  our  earlier  expectations.  The  dry  Aveather  Avas  also 
someAvhat  serious  for  the  young  clovers  soaa  n  late,  and  only  just 
above  ground.  For  them  the  rain  is  just  right,  and  a  good  plant 
should  noAV  be  safe.  Up-to-Date  potatoes  are  looking  Avell  every- 
AA-here,  but  the  appearance  of  the  noAver  kinds  is  anything  but 
satisfactory.  They  have  come  up  A^ery  unevenly,  and  many 
tubers  have  not  groAvn  at  all.  Holders  of  last  season’s  crop  are 
noAV  asking  for  40s.  per  ton,  but  there  are  no  buyers.  Noaa- 
potatoes  Avere  ready  to  dig  for  Sunday,  June  12th,  a  AA'eek  earlier 
than  usual.  Farm  AAork  is  rather  monotonous  noAv,  as  it  is 
the  same  round  of  soAving  and  hoeing  AA  eek  after  Aveek,  Avith  one 
interval  for  the  clover  and  another  for  the  haymaking. 
SAA'odes  have  come  np  aacII,  but  have  not  groAvn  so  quickly  as 
they  ought.  Perhaps  the  rain  Avill  help  them  on,  otherAvise  they 
Avill  come  late  to  the  hoe.  We  have  some  common  turnips  up 
and  ready  for  skerrying,  as  are  the  mangolds  for  the  second 
time,  preparatory  to  the  striking  out  process.  They  are  a  full 
plant,  and  very  superior  to  those  of  last  year. 
Stieep  are  healthy  and  thriving,  and  keep  their  price  in  the 
markets  Avell.  We  never  saAv  lambs  all  round  look  better,  and 
there  Avill  be  some  grand  lots  for  the  autumn  fairs.  It  is  but 
natural  that  they  should  have  done  Avell,  for  surely  there  never 
Avere  better  seed  pastures. 
Seeing  that  Ave  had  room  for  a  feAv  young  cattle,  AA’e  AA'ent  to 
market  last  AAeek  and  bought  a  feAV  yearlings,  but  AA'e  found 
them  both  scarce  and  dear.  We  Avere  fortunate  in  getting  some 
of  a  nice  class ;  for  if  they  are  dear  to  begin  Avith  they  may  groAv 
themselves  cheap,  Avhereas  the  common  soi't  never  can. 
Many  potatoes  are  being  fed  to  pigs,  but  there  is  not  much 
goodness  left  in  them,  and  good  mangolds  Avould  do  them  more 
good.  We  have  many  breeding  soavs  about  here,  and  litters  an^ 
very  numerous.  There  Avill  be  no  rise  in  the  pig  market  just 
yet. 
From  British  Soil  to  Soils  of  Distant  Climes. 
Some  feAV  months  ago  Messrs.  John  K.  King  and  Sons, 
seedsmen  by  royal  Avarrant  to  H.M.  the  King,  of  Coggeshall, 
Essex,  and  Reading,  Berks,  supplied  a  quantity  of  their  seeds  foi' 
the  Agricultural  Department  at  Uganda.  East  Africa,  and  it  is 
satisfactory  to  note  that  they  have  maintained  the  high  reputa¬ 
tion  Avhich  the  firm  has  for  their  Essex  groAvn  seed,  and  have 
lAi'oduced  most  satisfactory  results  in  that  distant  part  of  cue 
AAorld.  During  the  past  feAv  days  Mes.srs.  .John  K.  King  and  Sons 
have  received  an  official  report  of  the  seeds  sent  out,  of  Avhich 
the  folloAving  are  extracts: — Peas  did  very  AAell,  especially  John 
K.  King  and  Sons’  Earliest  of  All,  Improved  Telegraph,  and 
American  Wonder.  DAvarf  Beans  greAV  very  Avell,  and  Avere  a 
great  success.  Ijettuces  Aiere  a  great  success,  especially  Early 
Harhinger.  Mangold  AVurtzel  and  SAvede  Turnips  Avere  groAvn 
both  at  Entibbe  and  Masaka,  and  in  both  i)laces  grew  remark¬ 
ably  AA'ell.  Turnips  Avere  an  unqualified  succe.ss,  especially  the 
Imperial  Green  Glohe ;  they  Avere  ready  for  pulling  Avithin  six 
Aveeks  after  soAving,  and  Avere  of  excellent  flavour.  Carrots 
groAv  Avell,  and  preference  is  given  to  the  Early  Short  Horn 
variety.  Cabbage,  Broccoli,  Brus.sels  Sprouts,  Kohl  Rabi  greAv 
and  produced  re.sults  Avith  as  much  success  as  in  England. 
Tomatoes  gave  most  excellent  results,  especially  Lord  Roberts. 
Radishes  greAv  very  quickly,  and  Avei'o  fit  to  pull  three  Aveeks 
after  soAving.  Endive  and  Parsley  flourished  Avell,  and  gave 
most  excellent  results.  Potatoes  greAv  AA’ell,  and  produced 
mo.st  satisfactory  results,  especially  the  folloAving  varieties : 
John  K.  King  and  Sons’  Selected  Early  Rose.  Early  Snowdrop, 
and  Improved  Up-to-Date. 
