CULTURE OF GRASSES AND OTHER PLANTS RECOMMENDED FOR FODDER.
As already stated, the grasses in summer, and hay in winter, form the
most natural and important food for milch cows; and whatever other crops
come in as additional, these will form the basis of all systems of
feeding.
The nutritive qualities of the grasses differ widely; and their value as
feed for cows will depend, to a considerable extent, on the management
of pastures and mowing-lands.
If the turf of an old pasture is carefully examined, it will be found to
contain a large variety of grasses and plants adapted for forage; some
of them valuable for one purpose, and some for another. Some of them,
though possessing a lower percentage of nutritive constituents than
others, are particularly esteemed for an early and luxuriant growth,
furnishing a sweet feed in early spring, before other grasses appear;
some of them, for starting more rapidly than others, after being eaten
off by cattle, and consequently of great value as pasture grasses. Most
grasses will be found to be of a social character, and to do best in a
large mixture with other varieties.
In forming a mixture for pasture grasses, the peculiarities of each
species should, therefore, be regarded: as the time of flowering, the
habits of growth, the soil and location on which it grows best, and
other characteristics. Among the grasses found on cultivated lands, in
this country, the following are considered as among the most valuable
for ordinary farm cultivation; some of them adapted to pastures, and
others almost exclusively to mowing and the hay crop: Timothy (_Phleum
pratense_). Meadow Foxtail (_Alopecurus pratensis_). June, or Kentucky
Blue Grass (_Poa pratensis_). Fowl meadow (_Poa serotina_).
Rough-stalked Meadow (_Poa trivialis_). Orchard Grass (_Dactylis
glomerata_). Perennial Rye Grass (_Lolium perenne_). Italian Rye Grass
(_Lolium italicum_). Redtop (_Agrostis vulgaris_). English Bent
(_Agrostis alba_). Meadow Fescue (_Festuca pratensis_). Tall Oat Grass
(_Arrhenatherum avenaceum_). Sweet-scented Vernal (_Anthoxanthemum
odoratum_). Hungarian Grass (_Panicum Germanicum_). Red Clover
(_Trifolium pratense_). White or Dutch Clover (_Trifolium repens_), and
some others.
Of these, the most valuable, all things considered, is the first, or
Timothy (Fig. 56b). It forms a large proportion of what is commonly
called English, or in some sections meadow hay, though it originated and
was first cultivated in this country. It contains a large percentage of
nutritive matter, in comparison with other agricultural grasses. It
thrives best on moist, peaty, or loamy soils, of medium tenacity, and is
not well suited to very light, sandy lands. On very moist soils its root
is almost always fibrous; while on dry and loamy ones it is bulbous. On
soils of the former description, which it especially affects, its growth
is rapid, and its yield of hay large, sometimes amounting to three and
four tons to the acre, depending much, of course, on cultivation. But,
though very valuable for hay, it is not adapted to pastures, as it will
neither endure severe grazing, nor is its aftermath to be compared with
meadow foxtail, and some of the other grasses.
[Illustration: Fig. 56b. Timothy grass.]
[Illustration: Fig. 57b. June grass.]
JUNE GRASS (Fig. 57b), better known in some sections as Kentucky Blue
grass, is very common in most sections of the country, especially on
limestone lands, forming a large part of the turf, wherever it
flourishes, and being universally esteemed as a pasture grass. It starts
early, but varies much in size and appearance, according to the soil;
growing in some places with the utmost luxuriance, and forming the
predominant grass; in others, yielding to the other species. If cut at
the time of flowering, or a few days after, it makes a good and
nutritive hay, though it is surpassed in nutritive qualities by several
of the other grasses. It starts slowly after being cut, especially if
not cut very early. But its herbage is fine and uniform, and admirably
adapted to lawns, growing well in almost all soils, though it does not
endure very severe droughts. It withstands, however, the frosts of
winter better than most other grasses.
In Kentucky, a section where it attains its highest perfection and
luxuriance, ripening its seed about the 10th of June, and in latitudes
south of that, it sometimes continues green through the mild winters. It
requires three or four years to become well set, after sowing, and it
does not attain its highest yield as a pasture grass till the sod is
even older than that. It is not, therefore, suited to alternate
husbandry, where land usually remains in grass but two or three years
before being ploughed up. In Kentucky it is sown any time in winter when
the snow is on the ground three or four quarts of seed being used to the
acre. In spring the seeds germinate, when the sprouts are exceedingly
fine and delicate. Stock is not allowed on it the first year.
[Illustration: Fig. 58b. Meadow Foxtail.]
[Illustration: Fig. 59. Orchard grass.]
The MEADOW FOXTAIL (Fig. 58b) is also an excellent pasture grass. It
somewhat resembles Timothy, but is earlier, has a softer spike, and
thrives on all soils except the dryest. Its growth is rapid, and it is
greatly relished by stock of all kinds. Its stalk and leaves are too few
and light for a field crop, and it shrinks too much in curing to be
valuable for hay. It flourishes best in a rich, moist, and rather strong
soil, sending up a luxuriant aftermath when cut or grazed off, which is
much more valuable, both in quantity and nutritive value, than the first
crop. In all lands designed for permanent pasture, therefore, it should
form a considerable part of a mixture. It will endure almost any amount
of forcing, by liquid manures, or irrigation. It requires three or four
years, after sowing, to gain a firm footing in the soil. The seed is
covered with the soft and woolly husks of the flower, and is
consequently light; weighing but five pounds to the bushel, and
containing seventy-six thousand seeds to the ounce.
The ORCHARD GRASS, or ROUGH COCKSFOOT (Fig. 59), for pastures, stands
preëminent. This is a native of this country, and was introduced into
England, from Virginia, in 1764, since which time its cultivation has
extended into every country of Europe, where it is universally held in
very high estimation. The fact of its being very palatable to stock of
all kinds, its rapidity of growth, and the luxuriance of its aftermath,
with its power of enduring the cropping of cattle, have given it a very
high reputation, especially as a pasture grass. It blossoms earlier than
Timothy; when green is equally relished by milch cows; requires to be
fed closer, to prevent its forming tufts and growing up to seed, when it
becomes hard and wiry, and loses much of its nutritive quality. As it
blossoms about the same time, it forms an admirable mixture with red
clover, either for permanent pasture or mowing. It resists drought, and
is less exhausting to the soil than either rye grass or Timothy. The
seed weighs twelve pounds to the bushel, and when sown alone requires
about two bushels to the acre.
[Illustration: Fig. 60. Rough-stalked Meadow grass.]
[Illustration: Fig. 61. Rye grass.]
The ROUGH-STALKED MEADOW GRASS (Fig. 60) is somewhat less common than
June grass, but is considered as equally valuable. It grows best on
moist, sheltered meadows, where it flowers in June and July. It is
easily distinguished from June grass, by having a rough sheath, while
the latter has a smooth one, and by having a fibrous root, while the
root of June grass is creeping. It possesses very considerable nutritive
qualities, and comes to perfection at a desirable time; is exceedingly
relished by cattle, horses, and sheep. For suitable soils it should form
a portion of a mixture of seeds, producing, in mixture with other
grasses which serve to shelter it, a large yield of hay, far above the
average of grass usually grown on a similar soil. It should be cut when
the seed is formed. Seven pounds of seed to the acre will produce a good
sward. The grass loses about seventy per cent. of its weight in drying.
The nutritive qualities of its aftermath exceed very considerably those
of the crop cut in the flower or in the seed.
FOWL MEADOW GRASS is another indigenous species, of great value for low
and marshy grounds, where it flourishes best; and, if cut and properly
cured, makes a sweet and nutritious hay, which, from its fineness, is
eaten by cows without waste. According to Sinclair, who experimented,
with the aid of Sir Humphrey Davy, to ascertain its comparative
nutritive properties, it is superior, in this respect, to either meadow
foxtail, orchard grass, or tall meadow oat grass; but it is probable
that he somewhat overrates it. If allowed to stand till nearly ripe, it
falls down, but sends up innumerable flowering stems from the joints, so
that it continues green and luxuriant till late in the season. It
thrives best in mixture with other grasses, and deserves a prominent
place in all mixtures for rich, moist pastures, and low mowing-lands.
RYE GRASS (Fig. 61) has a far higher reputation abroad than in this
country, and probably with reason; for it is better adapted to a wet and
uncertain climate than to a dry and hot one. It varies exceedingly,
depending much on soil and culture; but, when cut in the blossom to make
into hay, it possesses very considerable nutritive power. If allowed to
get too ripe, it is hard and wiry, and not relished by cows. The change
from a juicy and nutritious plant to woody fibre, possessing but little
soluble matter, is very rapid. Properly managed, however, it is a
tolerably good grass, though not to be compared to Timothy, or orchard
grass.
ITALIAN RYE GRASS (Fig. 62) has also been cultivated to considerable
extent in this country, but with less satisfactory results than are
obtained from it in Europe, where it endures all climates, giving better
crops, both in quantity and quality, than the perennial rye grass. It is
one of the greatest gluttons of all the grasses, and luxuriates in
frequent irrigation with liquid manure, though it is said to stand the
drought very well. The soils best adapted to it are rich, moist, and
fertile, of medium tenacity; and it is admirably adapted to the purposes
of soiling, as it endures repeated cutting, rapidly sending up luxuriant
crops. For rich soils near the barn, used for the growth of crops for
soiling, therefore, it may be confidently used as a profitable addition
to our list of cultivated grasses.
[Illustration: Fig. 62. Italian Rye grass.]
[Illustration: Fig. 63. Redtop.]
REDTOP (Fig. 63) is a grass familiar to every farmer in the country. It
is the Herd’s grass of Pennsylvania, while in New York and New England
it is known by a great variety of names, and assumes a great variety of
forms, according to the soil in which it grows. It is well adapted to
almost every soil, though it seems to prefer a moist loam. It makes a
profitable crop for spending, in the form of hay, though its yield is
less than that of Timothy. It is well suited to our permanent pastures,
where it should be fed close, otherwise it becomes wiry and
innutritious, and cattle refuse it. It stands the climate of the
country as well as any other grass, and so forms a valuable part of any
mixture for pastures and permanent mowing-lands; but it is probably
rather overrated by us.
[Illustration: Fig. 64. English Bent.]
[Illustration: Fig. 65. Meadow Fescue.]
ENGLISH BENT (Fig. 64), known also by a great variety of other names, is
also largely cultivated in some sections. It closely resembles redtop,
but may be distinguished from it by the roughness of the sheaths when
the hand is drawn from above downwards. It possesses much the same
qualities as redtop.
MEADOW FESCUE (Fig. 65) is one of the most common of the fescue grasses,
and is said to be the Randall grass of Virginia. It is an excellent
pasture grass, forming a very considerable portion of the turf of old
pastures and fields; and is more extensively propagated and diffused by
the fact that it ripens its seeds before most other grasses are cut, and
sheds them to spring up and cover the ground. Its long and tender leaves
are much relished by cattle. It is rarely sown in this country,
notwithstanding its great and acknowledged value as a pasture grass. If
sown at all, it should be in mixture with other grasses, as orchard
grass, rye grass, or June grass. It is of much greater value at the time
of flowering than when the seed is ripe.
The TALL OAT GRASS (Fig. 66) is the Ray grass of France. It furnishes a
luxuriant supply of foliage, is valuable either for hay or for pasture,
and has been especially recommended for soiling purposes, on account of
its early and luxuriant growth. It is often found on the borders of
fields and hedges, woods and pastures, and is sometimes very plenty in
mowing-lands. After being sown it shoots up a very thick aftermath, and
on this account, partly, is regarded as nearly equal for excellence to
the common foxtail.
It grows spontaneously on deep, sandy soils, when once naturalized. It
has been cultivated to a considerable extent in this country, and is
esteemed by those who know it mainly for its early, rapid, and late
growth, making it very well calculated as a permanent pasture grass. It
will succeed on tenacious clover soils.
[Illustration: Fig. 66. Tall Oat grass.]
[Illustration: Fig. 67. Sweet-scented Vernal.]
The SWEET-SCENTED VERNAL GRASS (Fig. 67) is one of the earliest in
spring and one of the latest in autumn; and this habit of growth is one
of its chief excellences, as it is neither a nutritious grass nor very
palatable to stock of any kind, nor does it yield a very good crop. It
is very common all over New England and the Middle States, coming into
old worn-out fields and moist pastures spontaneously, and along every
roadside. It derives its name from its sweetness of smell when partially
wilted, or crushed in the hand, and it is this chiefly that gives the
delicious fragrance to all new-mown hay. It is almost the only grass
that possesses a strongly-marked aromatic odor, which is imparted to
other grasses with which it is cured. Its seed weighs eight pounds to
the bushel. In mixtures for permanent pastures it may be of some value.
HUNGARIAN GRASS, or Millet (Fig. 68), is an annual forage plant,
introduced into France in 1815, and more recently into this country. It
germinates readily and withstands the drought remarkably, remaining
green when other grasses are parched and dried up. It has numerous
succulent leaves, which furnish an abundance of sweet fodder, greatly
relished by stock of all kinds. It attains its greatest luxuriance on
soils of medium consistency and richness, but does very well on light
and dry plains.
[Illustration: Fig. 69. Red Clover.]
[Illustration: Fig. 68. Hungarian grass.]
RED CLOVER (Fig. 69) is an artificial grass of the leguminous family,
and one of the most valuable of cultivated plants for feeding to dairy
cows. It flourishes best on tenacious soils and stiff loams. Its growth
is rapid, and a few months after sowing are sufficient to supply an
abundant sweet and nutritious food. In the climate of New England clover
should be sown in the spring of the year, while most of the natural
grasses do far better sown in the fall. It is often sown with perfect
success on the late snows of March or April, and soon finds its way down
into the soil and takes a vigorous root. It is valuable not only as a
forage plant, but as shading the ground, and thereby increasing its
fertility.
The introduction of clover among the cultivated plants of the farm has
done more, perhaps, for modern agriculture than that of any other single
plant. It has now come to be considered indispensable in all good dairy
districts.
[Illustration: Fig. 70. White Clover.]
WHITE CLOVER (Fig. 70), often called Honeysuckle, is also widely
diffused over this country, to which it is undoubtedly indigenous. As a
mixture in all pasture grasses it holds a very high rank, as it is
exceedingly sweet and nutritious, and relished by stock of all kinds. It
grows most luxuriantly in moist grounds and moist seasons, but easily
accommodates itself to a great variety of circumstances.
With respect to the mixtures of grass-seeds most profitable for the
dairy farmer, no universal rule can be given, as they depend very much
upon the nature of the soil and the locality. The most important point
to be observed, and one in which we, as a body, are perhaps most
deficient, is to use a large number of species, with smaller quantities
of each than those most commonly used. This is nature’s rule; for, in
examining the turf of a rich old pasture, we shall find a large number
of different species growing together, while, if we examine the turf of
a field sown with only one or two different species, we find a far less
number of plants to the square foot, even after the sod is fairly set.
No improvement in grass culture is more important, it seems to me. I
have suggested, in another place, a large number of mixtures adapted to
the different varieties of soil and circumstance, together with the
reasons for the mixture in many instances. (See _A Practical Treatise on
Grasses and Forage Plants_, comprising their Natural History,
Comparative Nutritive Value, Methods of Cultivating, Cutting, and
Curing, and the Management of Grass Lands, &c. 236 pp. 8vo., with
illustrations.) As an instance of what I should consider an improvement
on our ordinary mixtures for _permanent pastures_, I would suggest the
following as likely to give satisfactory results, dependent, of course,
to a considerable extent, on the nature and preparation of the soil:
Meadow Foxtail, flowering in May and June, 2 pounds
Orchard Grass, flowering in May and June, 6 “
Sweet-scented Vernal, flowering in April and May, 1 “
Meadow Fescue, flowering in May and June, 2 “
Redtop, flowering in June and July, 2 “
June Grass, flowering in May and June, 4 “
Italian Rye Grass, flowering in June, 4 “
Perennial Rye Grass, flowering in June, 6 “
Timothy, flowering in June and July, 3 “
Rough-stalked Meadow Grass, flowering in June and July, 2 “
Perennial Clover, flowering in June, 3 “
White Clover, flowering in May to September, 5-40 “
For mowing-lands the mixture would, of course, be somewhat changed. The
meadow foxtail and sweet-scented vernal would be left out entirely, and
some six or eight pounds added to the Timothy and red clover. The
proper time to lay down lands to grass in the latitude of New England is
August or September, and no grain crop should be sown with the seed.
Stiff or clayey pastures should never be over-stocked, but when fed
pretty close the grasses are far sweeter and more nutritious than when
they are allowed to grow up rank and coarse; and if, by a want of
sufficient feeding, they get the start of the stock, and grow into rank
tufts, they should be cut and removed, when a fresh grass will start up,
similar to the aftermath of mowing-lands, which will be greedily eaten.
Grasses for curing into hay should be cut either at the time of
flowering or just before, especially if designed for milch cows. They
are then more succulent and juicy, and, if properly cured, form the
sweetest food.
Grass cut in the blossom will make more milk than if allowed to stand
later. Cut a little before the blossoming, it will make more than when
in the blossom; and the cows prefer it, which is by no means an
unimportant consideration, since their tastes should always be
consulted. Grass cut somewhat green, and properly cured, is next to
fresh, green grass in palatable and nutritive qualities. And so a
sensible practical farmer writes me: “The time of cutting grass depends
very much upon the use you wish to make of it. If for working oxen and
horses, I would let it stand till a little out of the blossom; but if to
feed out to new milch cows in the winter, I would prefer to cut it very
green. It is then worth for the making of milk in the winter almost
double that cut later.” Every farmer knows the milk-producing properties
of rowen, which is generally cut before it blossoms.
No operation on the farm is of greater importance to the dairyman than
the cutting of his grass and the manner of curing hay, and in this
respect the practice over the country generally is susceptible of very
great improvement. The chief object is to preserve the sweetness and
succulence of grass in its natural state, so far as it is possible; and
this object cannot be gained by exposing it too long to the scorching
suns and the drenching rains to which we are liable in this climate. We
generally try to make our hay too much.
As to the best modes of curing clover, my own experience and observation
accord with that of several practical farmers, who write me as follows:
“My method of curing clover is this: What is mown in the morning I leave
in the swath, to be turned over early in the afternoon. At about four
o’clock, or while it is still warm, I put it into small cocks with a
fork, and, if the weather is favorable, it may be housed on the fourth
or fifth day, the cocks being turned over on the morning of the day it
is to be carted. By so doing all the heads and leaves are saved, and
these are worth more than the stems. This has been my method for the
last ten years. For new milch cows in the winter I think there is
nothing better. It will make them give as great a flow of milk as any
hay, unless it be good rowen.” Another says: “When the weather bids fair
to be good, I mow it after the dew is off, and cock it up after being
wilted, using the fork instead of rolling with the rake, and let it
remain several days, when it is fit to put into the barn.” And another:
“I mow my clover in the forenoon, and towards night of the same day I
take forks and pitch it into cocks and let it stand till it cures. The
day I cart it, I turn the cocks over, so as to air the lower part. I
then put it into the mow with all the leaves and heads on, and it is as
nice and green as green tea. I think it worth for milch cows and sheep
as much per ton as English hay.” And still another: “I have found no
better hay for farm stock than good clover, cut in season. For milch
cows it is much better than Timothy. The rowen crop is better than any
other for calves.”
INDIAN CORN makes an exceedingly valuable fodder, both as a means of
carrying a herd of milch cows through our severe droughts of summer, and
as an article for soiling cows kept in the stall. No dairy farmer will
neglect to sow an extent in proportion to the number of cows he keeps.
The most common practice is to sow in drills from two and a half to
three feet apart, on land well tilled and thoroughly manured, making the
drills from six to ten inches wide with the plough, manuring in the
furrow, dropping the corn about two inches apart, and covering with the
hoe. In this mode of culture the cultivator may be used between the rows
when the corn is from six to twelve inches high, and unless the ground
is very weedy no other after culture is generally needed. The first
sowing usually takes place about the 20th of May, and this is succeeded
by other sowings at intervals of a week or ten days, till July, in order
to have a succession of green fodder. But, if it is designed to cut it
up to cure for winter use, an early sowing is generally preferred, in
order to be able to cure it in warm weather, in August or early in
September. Sown in this way, about three or four bushels of corn are
required for an acre, since, if sown thickly, the fodder is better, the
stalks smaller, and the waste less.
The chief difficulty in curing corn cultivated for this purpose, and
after the methods spoken of, arises mainly from the fact that it comes
at a season when the weather is often colder, the days shorter, and the
dews heavier, than when the curing of hay takes place. Nor is the curing
of corn cut up green so easy and simple as that of drying the stalks of
Indian corn cut above the ear, as in our common practice of topping. The
plant is then riper, less juicy, and cures more readily.
The method sometimes adopted is to cut and tie into small bundles, after
it is somewhat wilted, and stook upon the ground, where it is allowed to
stand, subject to all the changes of the weather, with only the
protection of the stook itself. The stooks consist of bunches of stalks
first bound in small bundles, and are made sufficiently large to prevent
the wind from blowing them over. The arms are thrown around the tops to
bring them together as closely as possible, when the tops are broken
over or twisted together, or otherwise fastened, in order to make the
stook “shed the rain” as well as possible. In this condition they stand
out till sufficiently dried to put into the barn. Corn fodder is very
excellent for young dairy stock.
COMMON MILLET (_Panicum miliaceum_) is another very valuable crop for
fodder in soiling, or to cure for winter use, but especially to feed out
during our usual periods of drought. Many varieties of millet are
cultivated in this country, the ground being prepared and treated as for
oats. If designed to cut for green fodder, half a bushel of seed to the
acre should be used; if to ripen seed, twelve quarts, sown broad-cast,
about the last of May or early in June. A moist loam or muck is the best
adapted to millet; but I have seen very great crops grown on dry upland.
It is very palatable and nutritious for milch cows, both green and when
properly cured. The curing should be very much like clover, care being
taken not to over-dry it. For fodder, either green or cured, it is cut
before ripening. In this state all cattle eat it as readily as green
corn, and a less extent will feed them. Millet is worthy of a
widely-extended cultivation, particularly on dairy farms. Indian millet
(_Sorghum vulgare_) is another cultivated variety.
RYE, as a fodder plant, is chiefly valuable for its early growth in
spring. It is usually sown in September or October, from the middle to
the end of September being, perhaps, the most desirable time, on land
previously cultivated and in good condition. If designed to ripen only,
a bushel of seed is required to the acre, evenly sown; but, if intended
for early fodder in spring, two or two and a half bushels per acre of
seed should be used. On warm land the rye can be cut green the last of
April or first of May; and care should be taken to cut early, as, if
allowed to advance too far towards maturity, the stalk becomes hard and
unpalatable to cows.
OATS are also sometimes used for soiling, or for feeding green, to eke
out a scanty supply of pasture feed; And for this purpose they are
valuable. They should be sown on well-tilled and well-manured land,
about four bushels to the acre, towards the last of April or first of
May. If the whole crop is to be used as green fodder, five bushels of
seed will not be too much on strong, good soil. They will be
sufficiently grown to cut by the first of July, or in some sections
earlier, depending on location.
The CHINESE SUGAR-CANE also may deserve attention as a fodder plant.
Experiments hitherto made seem to show that when properly cultivated,
and cut at the right time, it is a palatable and nutritious plant, while
many of the failures have been the result of too early cutting. For a
fodder crop the drill culture is preferable, both on account of the
larger yield obtained and to prevent it from becoming too hard and
stalky.
THE POTATO (_Solanum tuberosum_) is the first of the root crops to be
mentioned. This produces a large quantity of milk, though the quality
is inferior. The market value of this root is, at the present time, too
great to allow of feeding extensively with it, even in milk-dairies,
where it is most valuable as food for cows; still, there are locations
where it may be judicious to cultivate this root for dairy feed, and in
all circumstances there is a certain portion of the crop of unmarketable
size, which will be of value fed to milch cows or swine. It should be
planted in April or May, but in many sections in June, on good mellow
soil, first thoroughly ploughed and harrowed, then furrowed three feet
apart, and manured in the furrows with a mixture of ashes, plaster of
Paris, and salt. The seed may be dropped in the furrows, one foot apart,
after the drill system, or in hills, two and a half or three feet apart,
to be covered with the plough by simply turning the furrows back, after
which the whole should be rolled with the field roller, where it can be
done.
If the land is not already in good heart from continued cultivation, a
few loads of barn-yard manure may be spread, and ploughed under by the
first ploughing. Used in this way, it is far less liable to cause the
rot than when put in the hill. If a sufficient quantity of wood-ashes is
not at hand, sifted coal-ashes will answer the purpose, and are said to
be valuable as a preventive of the rot. In this way one man, two boys,
and a horse, can plant from three to four acres a day on mellow land. I
have planted two acres a day on the sod, the manure being first spread
on the grass, a furrow made by a yoke of oxen and one man, another
following after and dropping, a foot apart, along the outer edge of the
furrow on the grass. By quick work, one hand can nearly keep up with the
plough in dropping. When arrived at the end of the piece, a back furrow
is turned up to the potatoes, and a good ploughman will cover nearly
all without difficulty. On the return-furrow the man or boy who dropped
follows after, covering up any that may be left or displaced, and
smoothing off the top of the back-furrows where necessary. Potatoes thus
planted came out as fine as I ever saw any.
The cost of cultivation in this mode, it must be evident, is but
trifling compared with the slower method of hand-planting. The plan will
require a skilful ploughman, a quick, active lad, and a good yoke of
oxen, and the extent of the work will depend somewhat on the state of
the turf. The nutritive equivalent in potatoes for one hundred pounds of
good hay is 3.19 pounds; that is, it will take 319 pounds of potatoes to
afford the same amount of nourishment as one pound of hay. The great
value of roots is as a change or condiment, calculated to keep the
animal in a healthy condition.
THE CARROT (_Daucus carota_) is somewhat extensively fed, and is a
valuable root for milch cows. This, like the potato, has been cultivated
and improved from a wild plant. Carrots require a deep, warm, mellow
soil, thoroughly cultivated, but clean and free from weed-seed. The
difference between a very good profit and a loss on the crop depends
much on the use of land and manures perfectly free from foul seeds of
any kind. Ashes, guano, sea-weed, ground bone, and other similar
substances, or thoroughly-rotted and fermented compost, will answer the
purpose.
After ploughing deep, and harrowing carefully, the seed should be sown
with a seed-sower, in drills about eighteen inches apart, at the rate of
four pounds to the acre, about the middle or twentieth of May. The
difference between sowing the fifteenth of May and the tenth of June in
New England is said to be nearly one third in the crop on an average of
years. In weeding, a little wheel-hoe is invaluable, as with it a large
part of the labor of cultivation is saved. A skilful hand can run this
hoe within half an inch of the young plants without injury, and go over
a large space in the course of a day, if the land was properly prepared
in the first place.
The American farmer should always plan to economize labor. That is the
great item of expense on the farm. I do not mean that he should try to
shirk or avoid work, but that he should make the least amount of work
accomplish the largest and most profitable results. Labor-saving
machinery on the farm is applied not to reduce the number of hours’
labor, or to make the owner a man of leisure,--who is, generally, the
unhappiest man in the world,--but to enable him to accomplish the
greatest results in the same time that he would be compelled to labor to
obtain smaller ones.
Carrots will continue to grow and increase in size late into the fall.
When ready to dig, plough around as near to the outside rows as
possible, turning the furrow away from the row. Then take out the
carrots, pulling off the tops, and throw the carrots and tops into
separate heaps on the ploughed furrows. In this way a man and two boys
can harvest and put into the cellar over a hundred bushels a day.
The TURNIP (_Brassica rapa_) and the Swedish turnip or ruta baga
(_Brassica campestris_) are also largely cultivated as a field crop to
feed to stock; and for this purpose numberless varieties are used,
furnishing a great amount of succulent and nutritious food, late into
winter, and, if well kept, late into spring. The chief objection to the
turnip is that it taints the milk. This may be remedied, to a
considerable extent, if not wholly, by the use of salt, or salt hay, and
by feeding at the time of milking, or immediately after, or by steaming
before feeding, or putting a small quantity of the solution of nitre
into the pail, and milking upon it.
Turnips may be sown any time in June, in rich land, well mellowed by
cultivation. Very large crops are often obtained sown as late as the
middle of July, or first of August, on an inverted sod. The Michigan or
double-mould-board plough leaves the land light, and in admirable
condition to harrow, and drill in turnips. A successful root-grower last
year cut two tons of hay to the acre, on the 23d of June, and after it
was removed from the land spread eight cords of rotten kelp to the acre,
and ploughed in; after which about three cords of fine old compost
manure were used to the acre, which was sown, with ruta baga seed, in
drills, three feet apart, plants thinned to eight or ten inches in the
drill. No after cultivation was required. On the 15th of November he
harvested three hundred and seventy bushels of splendid roots to the
acre, carefully measured off.
The nutritive equivalent of Swedish turnips as compared with good meadow
hay is 676, taking hay as a standard at 100; that is, it would require
6.76 lbs. of turnips to furnish the same nutriment as one pound of good
hay; but, fed in connection with other food, as hay, for instance,
perhaps five pounds of turnips would be about equal to one pound of hay.
The English or round turnip is usually sown broadcast after some other
crop, and large and valuable returns are often obtained. The Swede is
sown in drills. Both these varieties are used for the production of
milk.
The chief objection to the turnip crop is that it leaves many kinds of
soil unfit for a succession of some other crops, like Indian corn, for
instance. In some sections no amount of manuring appears to make corn do
well after turnips or ruta bagas.
The MANGOLD WURZEL, a variety of the _Beta vulgaris_, is often
cultivated with great success in this country, and fed to cows with
advantage, furnishing a succulent and nutritive food in winter and
spring. The crop is somewhat uncertain. When it does well an enormous
yield is often obtained; but it often proves a failure, and is not, on
the whole, quite as reliable as the ruta baga, though a more valuable
crop when the yield is good. It is cultivated like the common beet, in
moist, rich soils, three pounds of seed to the acre. The leaves may be
stripped off, towards fall, and fed out, without injury to the growth of
the root. Both mangolds and turnips should be cut with a root-cutter,
before being fed out.
The PARSNIP (_Pastinaca sativa_) is a very sweet and nutritive article
of fodder, and adds richness and flavor to the milk. It is worthy of
extended culture in all parts of this country where dairy husbandry is
pursued. It is a biennial, easily raised on deep, rich, well-cultivated
and well-manured soils, often yielding enormous crops, and possessing
the advantage of withstanding the severest winters. As an article of
spring feeding, therefore, it is exceedingly valuable. Sown in April or
May, it attains a large growth before winter. Then, if desirable, a part
of the crop may be harvested for winter use, and the remainder left in
the ground till the frost is out, in March or April, when they can be
dug as wanted, and are exceedingly relished by milch cows, and stock of
all kinds. They make an admirable feed at the time of milking, and
produce the richest cream, and the yellowest and finest-flavored butter,
of any root with which I am acquainted. The good dairy farmers on the
island of Jersey often feed to their cows from thirty to thirty-five
pounds of parsnips a day, in addition to hay or grass.
Both practical experiment and scientific analysis prove this root to be
eminently adapted to dairy stock, where the richness of milk or
fine-flavored butter is any object. For mere milk-dairies, it is not
quite so valuable, probably, as the Swedish turnip. The culture is
similar to that of carrots, a rich, mellow, and deep loam being best;
while it has a great advantage over the carrot in being more hardy, and
rather less liable to injury from insects, and more nutritive. For
feeding and fattening stock it is eminently adapted.
To be sure of a crop, fresh seed must be had, as it cannot be depended
on more than one year. For this reason, the largest and straightest
roots should be allowed to stand for seed, which, as soon as nearly
ripe, should be taken off and spread out to dry, and carefully kept for
use. For field culture the hollow-crowned parsnip is the best and most
profitable; but on thin, shallow soils the turnip-rooted variety should
be used. Parsnips may be harvested like carrots, by ploughing along the
rows. Let butter or cheese dairymen give this crop a fair and full
trial, and watch its effect on the quality of the milk and butter.
The KOHL RABI (_Brassica oleracea_, var. _caulorapa_) is also cultivated
to a considerable extent in this country, to feed to stock. It is
supposed to be a hybrid between the cabbage and the turnip, and is often
called the cabbage-turnip, having the root of the former, with a
turnip-like or bulbous stem. The special reason for its more extensive
cultivation among us is its wonderful indifference to droughts, in which
it seems to flourish best, and to bring forth the most luxuriant crops.
It also withstands the frosts remarkably, being a hardy plant. It yields
a somewhat richer quality of milk than the ordinary turnip, and the crop
is generally admitted to be as abundant and profitable. I have seen
very large crops of it produced by the ordinary turnip or cabbage
cultivation. As in cabbage culture, it is best to sow the seed in March
or April, in a warm and well-enriched seed-bed; from which it is
transplanted in May, and set out after the manner of cabbages in garden
culture. It bears transplanting better than most other roots. Insects
injure it less than the turnip, dry weather favors it, and it keeps well
through the winter. For these reasons, it must be regarded as a valuable
addition to our list of forage plants adapted to dairy farming. It grows
well on stronger soils than the turnip.
LINSEED MEAL is the ground cake of flax-seed, after the oil is pressed
out. It is very rich in fat-forming principles, and given to milch cows
it increases the quality of butter, and keeps them in condition. Four or
five pounds a day are sufficient for cows in milk, and this amount will
effect a great saving in the cost of other food, and at the same time
make a very rich milk. It is extensively manufactured in this country,
and largely exported, but is worthy of more general use here. It must
not be fed in too large quantities to milch cows, for it would be liable
to give too great a tendency to fat, and thus affect the quantity of
milk.
RAPE-CAKE possesses much the same qualities. It is the residuum after
pressing the oil from rape-seed.
COTTON-SEED MEAL is an article of comparatively recent introduction. It
is obtained by pressing the seed of the cotton-plant, which extracts the
oil, when the cake is crushed or ground into meal, which has been found
to be a very valuable article for feeding stock. An analysis has been
given on a preceding page, which shows it to be equal or superior to
linseed meal. Practical experiments are needed to establish it. It is
prepared chiefly in Providence, R. I., and is for sale in the market at
a very reasonable price.
The MANURES used in this country in the culture of the plants mentioned
above are mostly such as are made on the farm, consisting chiefly of
barn-yard composts of various kinds, with often a large admixture of
peat-mud. There are few farms that do not contain substances which, if
properly husbanded, would add very greatly to the amount of manure
ordinarily made. The best of the concentrated manures, which it is
sometimes necessary to use, for want of time and labor to prepare enough
on the farm, is, unquestionably, Peruvian guano. The results of this,
when properly applied, are well known and reliable, which can hardly be
said of any other artificial manure offered for the farmer’s notice. The
chief objection to depending on manures made off the farm is, in the
first place, their great expense; and in the second, which is equally
important, the fact that, though they may be made valuable, and produce
at one time the best results, a want of care in the manufacture, or
designed fraud, may make them almost worthless, with the impossibility
of detecting the imposition, without a chemical analysis, till it
becomes too late, and the crop is lost.
It is, therefore, safest to rely mainly upon the home manufacture of
manure. The extra expense of soiling cattle, saving and applying the
liquid manure, and thus bringing the land to a higher state of
cultivation, when it will be capable of keeping more stock, and of
furnishing more manure, would offer a surer road to success than a
constant outlay for concentrated fertilizers.
The various articles used for top-dressing grass lands, and the
management of grass and pasture lands, have been treated of in detail in
the work already alluded to, on the CULTURE OF GRASSES AND FORAGE
PLANTS.