MAKING HAY

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 56, Issue 62, 24 December 1935, Page 7

MAKING HAY

THE BUILDING OF STACKS. QUESTION OF CUTTING TIME. (By “The Tramp.”) The making of hay and the building of stacks form the topic of an interesting article in a recent issue of the A7ictorian Journal of Agriculture, and it might not be too late to quote from it. In Victoria we learn that lucerne, oats, and wheat are all grown for hay though it would he idflieult to persuade a County farmer to cut a crop of oats in the green stage for hay. At the same time it might prove a useful experiment to grow a small area of Algerians or Duns and cut for hay just wnen they had come into full ear. In A 7 ictoria the crop is cut with the binder and in our variable climate this is probably safer than using the mower and spreading the crop out on the ground. The one essential now generally recognised is that to get hay of high feeding value, no matter what the material is, the crop should be cut while it is still in the green stage as though the quantity may not weigh out so well as if left to fully develop the hay is not only of higher quality but is also much more palatable. There are various crops which will succeed in any part of this province when proper attention is given to cultivation, seed, and fertilers. For bulk and quick growth combined with high feeding value nothing can beat Italian ryegrass or AVestern AVolths with either of which can be mixed Algerians or Duns. If sown in March or April, any of these sown separately or in combination, late Autumn and early Spring feed is assured and cutting can he done before New Year leaving a very valuable aftermath for Autumn grazing or a second fodder crop of hay. A successful stand of lucerne is of course the most valuable fodder crop which can be grown either for ensilage or hay and with proper attention has the added advantage ol lasting for years. Growing the crop is onjy the first step toward providing for winter or a spring shortage and no matter how heavy the crop or of what material it consists, its value is heavily discounted if not properly saved, a pi’ocess which begins with the mower or binder and only ends when the crop is in a- well built stack and properly thatched. The writer has never seen hay in England, Scotland or New Zealand so perfectly worked as it was by Irish farmers and the only implements used were a scythe, rake and fork, the latter only in stacking, as the shaking out was all done by hand close behind the moweis. The. main idea is to have even winnowing and after one day of sunshine to properly wilt the top layer, the hay was turned and later on “lapped,” that is, an armful after being well shaken was rolled into a round bundle and left on the ground until it was fit to be put into small cocks. The result of this intensive work was that even in mixed weather the hay retained its colour and fragrance therefore its high value as fodder. The A 7 ictorian writer deals very fully with methods of stacking and quotes measurements showing the quantities which they may be counted on to hold. Mistakes on this point are frequent which leads to stacks with tops too flat or the .reverse, a quantity left over which is seldom properly secured. The building of hot hhay and. grain stacks does not l’eceive sufficient attention in the County generally, and a certain waste of good material is much too common. AVhen. the stack is build only sufficient time for it to settle down should ho allowed before proceeding with the thatching, another operation which calls for careful work. It is not sufficient to run tho mower over a paddock and then leave the crop to the mercy of the elements as haj can only be made when the sun shines and every hour of sunshine must be taken advantage of. Keep on turning and this if, if anything, most important under a scorching sun, bearing, out the wisdom of the age-old axiom to “make hay while the sun shines.