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VOL. .LXVI
INDIANAPOLIS, JUNE 24, 1911.
NO. 25
SECVRIX-   THE   HAY   CROP.
Editors Indiana Fanner:
In the middle-western states the first
cutting of clover and alfalfa seldom
escapes more or less rainy weather. ■ It
requires the mind of a master farmer
to keep his help busy and secure these
crops during catchy weather. There Is
no escape from labor in handling early
iiithay that must lie in the cock two or
more days before it can be hauled to
ihe mow.
One practice I have always found
safe is to cut only what can be handled
the same day. Cut in the morning and
shake out with the tedder in the afternoon and rake and put in cocks before
the dew gathers in the evening. If it
is protected In this manner, the leaves
being comparatively dry when the hay
Is put into cocks, escape drying and
breaking oft from the stems. Opened
up in the morning of the third day the
moisture having gone from the stems
to the leaves during the sweating process quickly evaporates and the hay is
In good condition to haul to the barn
Immediately after noon.
Hay cocks and  covers are  essential
[to the proper curing of the first cut-
I tings o£ clover and alfalfa.     Clover and
laltaUa properly    cocked    and    covered
1 with oiled cloth covers, so far as im-
Jmun/ty from water soaking is concern-
led, has a great advantage, but the reason so  many   farmers   object   to   this
method is because it precludes the use
of the hay-loader.     The  aditional  expense of curing the   crop in    the cock
will amount to nearly seventy-five cents
a ton, but it Is easy to see that much
difference between    bright,    clean hay
with the    leaves on    and a mass    of
bleached, naked stems.    Clover and alfalfa leaves  are    nearly  as     valuable
I Pound for pound as wheat bran, consequently every effort should be made to
I ave them in a palatable and nutritious
I form.     Deterioration    from     exposure
and the risk of the hay heating in the
1 mow will more than repay the cost of
I the hay covers the first season they are
|oied.
The hay tedder improves the quality
l«t the hay when the yield is heavy- It
I'aitens the curing and enables us to
|ave many tons that would otherwise
** left out in the field exposed to the
l*ater and sun.     The tedding of clover
I "id alfalfa must be stopped before the
||'aves get dry and the hay is thrown
'"to windrows. After going over these
ltroPa once with the tedder it is best to
''Irn the windrows with a side delivery
ralce. simply rolling them over and exposing all sides to the free circulation
p the air and sunshine. This reduces
|">e loss of leaves and the hay ls rapid-
II cured.
.   Por years the rule was to cut alfalfa
"*n about one-tenth of the field was
'lissom.     Now experienced growers
' er to begin cutting when the crown
I'!»*"" to thfow out new shoots about
L' ineh long.     The best time to begin
.* cl°ver  harveat  is just  before   the
I _  is In full    bloom.    At this time
^ '"Mains more juice, fat and  nour-
m<"nt; these are the substances that
,\° 80od hay and without them there
. "'tie  left   except   wood.      Another
w,"1!*8* of cutting clover early is the
a    vigorous    second     growth
'* thUP rapld,y-   Many farmer? sacri-
*al value of their hay for the
■'« ha*10"  "*  cuttin&  and   hauling  to
arn the same day.     Others go to
the other extreme and cut it when its
chief asset is water and an expanding
root system capable of gathering great
quantities of animal food if allowed to
stand a few days longer. If we have a
large acreage we must begin cutting
early before the grass is just right to
cut but it is wrong to cut half grown
clover and alfalfa.
The drier air and soil of late summer
makes the harvesting of timothy less
hazardous. The handling of timothy
or mixed hay is less difficult, for the
hay is ready to go into the mow in a
short time if the days are hot and the
sun shines brightly. Timothy had best
be  cut  when  in  full  bloom;   the  best
is this to be accounted for? Not because the grass contains more protein
or that is a better balanced feed. It is
due to its better mechanical condition,
which enables the animals to get more
nourishment from it. It ls green and
succulent and easier to digest and assimilate. Grass is nature's stock food
and the more nearly we can approach
to saving it in its natural condition the
nearer we will come to having an ideal
feed for our stock. If we preserve that
rich succulence that nature puts Into
our grasses we will secure the highest
development that our animals are capable of reaching. I_. J. Meredith.
Momence, 111.
Driving Geese   to Market.
time to cut is in the afternoon when
the planta contain less moisture than at
any time during the day. When it is
cut in the afternoon a rain the same
night will not do any serious damage,
especially if the tedder can be started
early the following day. The sooner
we loosen the swath and allow the air
to dry it the sooner it will be ready for
the mow. After it is tedded a few
times it may be raked into windrows
and tedded two or three times.
If the weather is right it should be
ready for the mow the next afternoon
after it is cut. It should not be cocked in the field when the weather is favorable. When placed in the mow care
must be taken to keep it well spread
and tramped down, especially when a
horse fork is used in unloading.
The time for cutting timothy should
be governed largely by the animals that
are being fed and the uses made of
it Cows that are giving milk will
thrive best on early cut hay. Horses
that are being worked hard will thrive
fully as well if not better, on hay that is
cut a little out of bloom. Thus the
first cutting will make better cow hay
and the later cutting good horse hay.
Many still cling to the Idea that be-
cause late cut hay will analyze better
than early cut hay it has a higher feeding value, but it is wrong to view the
matter from that standpoint.
If we feed late cut hay to young
stock ln the winter they will become
thin; then turn .them out to pasture
and they will shed off their old hair
and begin to look sleek and sappy. How
"SHOES" FOR THE GEESE.
Editor!  Indiana  Farmer:
Round about Maysville, in Kentucky, every autumn, there are still
conducted the great "geese drives,"
similar to the turkey drives for which
Kentucky was famous before the
Rhode Island gobbler came and took
away her title to the prize.
For these "drives" the drover will
arrange months ahead, often even in
the spring time, going over the turnpikes and finding, from each farmer,
how many geese he will expect to sell
in the fall. For these he bargains at
so much per pound, or per head.
When, then, the due season comes,
the drover begins at the farthest point
up the road. The geese, counted and
paid for, are driven into the highway.
Boys, hired for the work, drive them
by easy stages to the next farm. Meanwhile the buyer has gone ahead, done
his weighing and reckoning, and per
haps helped to chase the geese to the
gate, awaiting the flock. Then they
are admitted into the highway to Join
these. And so it goes on and on, the
white mass of birds gaining in size like
an on-coming snow-ball.
In sections the continental custom of
"shoeing the geese" Is still preserved.
That is to say, as these marches may
consume days, the geese's feet will
wear down, the fowls suffer, and they
lose In plumpness and value. In proportion. So, before starting, a bed of tar
is prepared, ln the farm-yard, and Just
beyond It, a bed of fine gravel. The
geese aro driven first through the tar.
which adheres to  their feet, and  then
through tho gravel, which sticks to the
tar. Hack again then, through the tar
for more of lt, and then through the
sand or the pebbles. In this way a
"shoe" or casing forms, which protects
the more delicate web of the foot,
while on the cruel roads. /
Ohio.
Felix J. Koch.
FARM POWER.
Editor* Indiana Farmer:
Gas may have a place In farm economy but such a place is limited to large
farms.
A neighbor sold an old blind horse
for $75. This horse should have been
given the freedom of the pasture for
he is old worn and blind, but the demands for "horse" help is so great that
he must "toil on." The man who
bought him farms many acres of fertile
soil. He has ample resources for raising horses, mules or oxen, but seems
content to use blind animals in preference. Years past almost every farm
had its brood mares, and colts were
common, but they are as rare now as
they were common then. Why? Will
gas take their place in the run of farm
work? There is even a scarcity of
horses for ordinary team laljor. Public
work calls for these teams, and the old
worn, blind horse hardly answers for
this purpose.
At every public sale held last spring,
anything In the shape of a horse
brought a fair price. That there Is
profit in colts is shown by this incident. Our next door neighbor owns a
brood mare. Last spring she foaled
and that colt, now one year old, will
bring $175 any day the owner asks It
and today he has another five weeks
old, that Is growing into good money
every hour.
Once or twice a year some dealer
brings" in a lot of "used up" horses procured in the cities where they are no
longer useful, and they are sold at figures that puzzle one to know Just how:
little our people reason between the
cost of production and that of purchasing. Any farmer could have one or
two teams of young healthy horses at a
much less cost than to purchase these
worn out animals. J. H.
Edlton Indiana Farmer:
Will wild parsnips kill sheep if they
are allowed to feed In fields where
they grow? J.  R. Gross.
Answer: We recall no cases of sheep
poisoning from eating wild parsnips,
but It is well known that human beings
are often poisoned by them, and It
would not be safe to pasture sheep In
fields infested with them, as sheep eat
almost anything within  reach.
Better mow them. If you do this
carefully they will perl3h after tho
second year. Cut them down now, before the seed matures.
 .   m   .
Edlton Indiana Fanner:
I have a piece of ground that is alive
with Morning Glory vines; would like
to know a remedy to get rid of them.
Will the seed lie ln the ground over one
year and then come up the next year?
Would like to hear through the Farmer
how to get rid of them. F. O. H.
Answer: Yes, Indeed the seed He ln
the ground, and you will find they are
sprouting all over the fleld. We do.
They can be killed out by frequent,
shallow cultivation. That's the only
way we know of. Don't let any vines
eo to seed.