Cutting And Curing Hay

The manner of making hay varios according to the climatic cunditions where the erop is grown. In the climate of England, whero the farmer cannot be sure of fair weather for twelve hours at a time ; where the Summer heat is low, and where, from the constant manuring and the application of commercial fertilizers, the earth is made to carry an immense burthen, evory advantage is taken, by spreading, stirring and careful oockto ward against contingenten of weather with which, in more Bunny climates, the husbandman has not to contend. There, it is unusual to see hay of a uniform green color, as with us. It is always dark, generally brown, but nevertheless usually of excellent quality. When, some years since, our brightcolored hay was shipped there, it was unsaleable, except at prices fai below that grown by themselves, and we presume this will be tho case with that shipped henee this soason, which at best could not have been laid down in Liverpool at less than about $50 per ton of 2,000 pounds. If the shipment of hay should continue, the English farmers would find, upon investigation, that our bright hay, cut and thoroughly cured while young, is really superior to theirs. But do they really get oup best quality of hay ? We opine that the principal part of the hay shipped there is really hay browned and muaty, from becoming damp and heating in the stack ; if so, there is a very suffioient reason for their condemnation of American hay. Every country has its own peculiar manner of inaking hay. Üur system, as is well known, is to euro it if possible in a single day. Indeed, gome farmers aini to draw into the barn in the afternoon what is cut in the morning. This can only be done in exceptionally hot and otherwise good weather, unless with the use of the tedder or other stirring implement, and then only in good haying weather. It is not at all certain that oarrying hay to the mow without a preliminary sweat, is the best way of making and securing it ; it may do well onough for hay allowed to become ripe, or nearly so, before cutting ; as where it is intended for the markets of large cities. Whatever the taste of the stable keepers in large cities, where hay is always tha highest prioed feed in the market, may have dictated, the plan would soon ruin the feeder of stock on the farm, whose aim is to consume all the nutriment possible, and furnish the forage in the most easily digestible state to the animáis under his care. To enable him to do this, grass should be cut when iu blossom ; or at leaBt before the field is entirely out of blossom. In order to enable him to cure the hay in the best manner, the farmer who has grass onough to warrant the purchaso of a mowing machine, should also have a tedder, an implement for tossing and stirring the hay. If two mowers are run, the necessity will be so much greater, since one tedder may be so manged that it will about toss and stir the hay mowed by two machines. It may thus in fair weather be rendered not only dry enough for raking and cocking before the dew beginB to fall, which often ocours as early as 4 P. M., but the hay will be found uuiformly dry, of a uniform oolor, and nearly as valuable for food as the grass itself. Hay should always be put into cock so green that it will sweat ; and should be left there at least thirty-six hours. Then, under ordinary ciroumstancea, the superfluous nioisture will be passed off in the procesa of loading and stacking, and if it undergoes another slight fermentation in the atack or barn, as it should do, it will be all the better lor it. In this connection it is proper to remark that the more solid the stiK'U or mow, the slighter and uioro uiiiforra the fermentation will be ; for it is tho accoss of too niuch air in loosely made stack that ronders the swoating excessive and destruotive. If the hay is stacked in the meadows by use of gathering and stacking uiachinery, tho whole process is sitnplified ; for those cooks that are found actually moist may be uncapped with a hay rake, or quickly opened by hand, the gatherer following at the proper time to inass and carry it to tho stack, or barracks in the field, where it inay remain untilfed out or hauled away. Tho .-.uring of clover requires especial care. If left in tbo sun uutil tbe stalks are naturally cured, the lea ves beoome so dry that they invariably fall, and but little is left but the bare stalks and the heads. It should only be left long enough to wilt thoroughly. Then it should be stirred with the tedder, and, before the leaves are so dry as to crumble, placed in high narrow cocks to cure. As soon as it has com'inenced (o sweat, whicb will oocur within forty-eight hours, it should be spread and, before dry enough to crumble, oarriod to the barn Or staok. If thore are appearaiices of rain, it may be opened the uext day by uncapping and then spreading the remainder, just so that thti air may have accees to pass through easily, and, when dry from superfluousmoisture, carted to the barn. We do not believe in salting hay sufficiently to cure it, as it is called. Two quarts to the ton will make it palatable to stock. If it be necessary to absorb the moisture of certain loads put in green to save them trom getting wet, we should prefer to use air-slacked lime, say two to tour quarts per ton, in connection with as niuch salt. The botter way, however, sinoe hay is one of the most oostly of tho natural producís of the farm in the West, is to use every care so that, while saving expense as much as may be legitimately possible, no pains be spared to have the hay carefully made and without the use either of salt or lime. If this be done, there would be no objection to salting or timing, now and then, a few loads more beavily ; since in cutting down the stack ot mow, the salted and unsaltcd would be mixed, and the stock would not be tortured with thirst from eatine over-salted hay in the winter.