82 Missouri Agricultural Report. 



Taking the average of the three years in which all five cuttings 

 were made, we find that the third cutting gave the largest yield of 

 dry matter, as well as the largest yield of field cured hay. The 

 fourth cutting, when the seed were in the dough, stood second, the 

 diff"erence being only 1% per cent, or 50 pounds less of dry matter 

 per acre. The second cutting was third, with a decline of 3 per 

 cent from the third cutting, or a difference of 125 pounds of dry 

 matter per acre. The fifth cutting, when the plants were ripe, 

 ranked fourth in yield of dry matter, being nearly 350 pounds, or 

 8I/2 P^^ cent behind the third cutting. The first cutting, with the 

 plants in full head, showed the smallest yield of dry matter, being 

 16 1/2 per cent, or 680 pounds behind the third cutting. 



INFLUENCE OF MATURITY OF THE PLANT UPON ITS DIGESTIBILITY. 



After all, the stockman is interested in the amount of digestible 

 material his feed contains rather than the yield of cured hay or 

 dry matter. 



Digestion experiments were made with yearling and two-year- 

 old steers, and it was found in every instance that the first cutting 

 was the most completely digested, and that there was a steady 

 decline in digestibility from that time on. 



3. YIELD OF DIGESTIBLE MATERIAL PER ACRE FROM THE VARIOUS 



CUTTINGS. 



Considering the yields on the basis of the amount of each that 

 the animal is able to digest, as determined by our trials, the first 

 year showed the maximum digestible material at the second cut- 

 ting, when the plants were in full bloom, with the yield for the 

 third cutting practically the same. There was then a decline of 

 8.5 per cent to the fourth cutting, when the seed were in the dough. 

 The first cutting ranked fourth in yield, being 10 per cent behind 

 the maximum or second cutting, whereas the fifth cutting, when 

 the plants were mature, showed 15 per cent less yield than the 

 second cutting. 



In the second year of the trial the hay when harvested in bloom 

 or at the second cutting, again showed the highest yield of digestible 

 matter. Unlike the previous trial, however, the first cutting, with 

 the plants in full head, was a close second, being only 1.5 per cent 

 behind the second cutting. There was then a heavy decline to the 

 third cutting, with the seed just formed, the difference being 250 

 pounds of digestible material per acre, or 10.5 per cent, followed 



