Peanut meal.—No offerings of new crop peanut meal have been reported, and it is stated that probably none will be offered until about Nov. 1.
DEMAND FOR CUT HAY ALMOST A THING OF THE PAST.
General Use of Automobiles and Electric Street Cars Cuts Sales—Was Used Mostly in Cities.
The demand for cut, or chopped, hay has diminished to such an extent during the past decade that at present only an occasional car is bought by city dealers while only a few shippers prepare this commodity for market.
But back in the days when phaetons, surreys, and smart traps drawn by high-stepping trotters and easy-going “family” horses were seen upon the boulevards, and the heavy hauling was done by big draft horses rather than by gasoline-eating trucks, many city dealers operated plants for the preparation and baling of cut hay. Numerous plants also were situated in the producing sections of New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. The advent of the automobile, however, has changed all this, aided materially by the substitution of electricity for mule power as the propelling force of street cars.
The kinds of hay usually chopped were timothy and clover mixed. While hay which had become slightly overripe or which contained a mixture of grasses frequently was used, only good, sound, and sweet feeding hay was considered fit for shipping.
FED MIXED WITH GRAIN.
Cut hay is generally fed mixed with grain and is considered an excellent feed, as it prevents the stock from eating the concentrated grain ration too rapidly. The hay is usually dampened when used in this manner. This is one of the disadvantages of feeding it for if more than enough is mixed for one feed and it is not fed within a short time it is likely to sour if the weather is warm, or possibly freeze if the weather is cold. This condition, together with the labor and bother of mixing, has caused feeders in many instances to turn to ready-mixed and molasses feeds.
However, for feeders who desire to prepare their own mixed feed ration the cut hay is probably the most convenient ingredient that can be used to produce the required bulk.