EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 233 



On heavy fertile soils, sweet clover when seeded at the same time as the 

 oats, sometimes makes sufficient growth to make difficult the curing of the 

 grain. On this type of soil it is advisable to seed the sweet clover two weeks 

 later than the oats. 



HARVESTING FOR HAY. 



The stage of growth at which sweet clover is cut has a great influence 

 upon the quality of hay secured. It should he cut just before the hlossom 

 buds appear. After this stage sweet clover becomes very woody, the leaves 

 fall off, and a very poor quality of hay results. When growTi alone on fertile 

 soils it is sometimes possible to secure a crop of hay the first season. The 

 only precaution necessary is to cut early enough so that approximately 

 from four to six inches growth will be made for \\dnter protection. 



The time and height of cutting is very important. Sweet clover does not 

 propagate the second year from a crown as does alfalfa, but propagates 

 from buds in the axils of the leaves on the lower portion of the stalk. Con- 

 sequently if the first cutting is made below the young branches which bear 

 the leaves, a second crop ^^^ll not be secured. If the cutting is made just 

 before the blossom buds appear the proper height will be about six inches, 

 if however the plants are allowed to come into bloom it will be necessary to 

 cut ten or twelve inches high in order that a second crop may be secured. 

 If a ten inch stubble is desired it will be necessary to replace the shoe soles 

 of the mower with higher soles which may be made of strap iron at any black- 

 smith shop. 



HARVESTING FOR SEED. 



The best implement to use in harvesting sweet clover for seed will depend 

 upon the gro^\'th made. If the growth is not too rank and heavy, the grain 

 binder may be used. However, if very rank the corn binder will give better 

 satisfaction. A three foot swath may be cut with the corn binder by placing 

 ten inch extensions upon the dividers. The mowing machine causes great 

 loss through shattering and is not satisfactory. A sweet clover plant does 

 not mature all of its seed at one time; consequently, the proper stage to cut 

 is when three-fourths of the seed pods have turned brown. 



Sweet clover may be threshed with the ordinary grain thresher. If very 

 dry most of the seed will be hulled; if slightly damp but very few seed will 

 be hulled. When the grain thresher does not remove the hull it may be 

 hulled with a clover huller or scarifier. Due to the greater capacity of the 

 grain thresher it is better adapted for threshing sweet clover than the clover 

 huller. 



