No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 255 



it is usually necessary to harvest it in its early stage of growth, par- 

 ticularly if used as a catch crop to be followed by corn. A yield of 

 eii^^it tons of crimson clover will furnish as much protein as is con- 

 lained in one and one-half tons of wheat bran, and, because of this 

 Jiiirogeneous character, may be fed profitably with corn meal. This 

 crop is also highly nitrogeneous in its character, the dry matter 

 showing a nutritive ratio of 1:4.1, and may serve as the alfalfa to 

 reduce the need for purchased protein. 



No difficulty has been experienced in securing a catch of crimson 

 clover at the Experiment Farm, and, with few exceptions, the crop 

 has withstood the winter well; in fact, during the winter of 1890- 

 ]!)00, it proved more hardy than red clover. It may be that in cases 

 ^\'here failures are reported there is a deficiency of lime, or of the 

 mineral elements, phosphoric acid and potash. It is the practice at 

 tiio farm, when breaking up the sod for corn, to manure, at the rate 

 of eight tons per acre of an even mixture of ground bone, acid phos- 

 phate and muriate of potash, and the following years in the succes- 

 sion to app]}^ 100 pounds per acre of a mixture as follows: 



Pounds. 



Acid phosphate, 75 



Ground bone, 10 



Muriate of potash, 15 



Red Clover, Alsike and Timothy. — Following the crimson clover, 

 the red clover, or mixtures of red clover and alsike, or even red 

 clover, alsike and timothy, are used, and mixed grasses of timothy, 

 red top and Kentucky blue grass. These mixed clovers or grasses 

 are familiar to all, and their character and feeding value well under- 

 stood. These are also nitrogenous in their character, and for this 

 reason are superior to most other crops, and may be used from ten 

 days to three weeks or a month, depending upon the character of 

 the plant mixture; the clovers coming earlier, and those having the 

 larger proportion of grass serving to supply the green forage as late 

 as the first week in Julv. 



The yield of these will average about six tons per acre, though they 

 are influenced, as the others, by the character of soil and season, and 

 the grasses particularly showing a higher content of dry matter 

 than the clovers. On soils where soiling is practiced, it is usually 

 a good plan to seed in the early fall, when the crop, if well fertilized, 

 will be ready for use in the following summer. An application of 

 oOO pounds per acre of a fertiliz.er containing: 



