238 FORAGE CBOPS 



swath until dry. Light rains, or even heavy dews, 

 will change the green leaves to dark brown, and 

 make them crisp and readily removed by handling ; 

 they wdll also extract the aroma arising from the 

 essential oils, w^hich is so important in making 

 the hay palatable and attractive. When properly 

 cured, the hay wall have about the composition 

 noted, above, and, as a roughage to use with silage 

 in winter feeding, it cannot be surpassed except 

 perhaps by alfalfa. 



The high content of protein makes clover one of 

 the best plants for forage purposes. It is possible 

 with clover alone to supply all the needed nutrients 

 in good proportions for dairy animals. It is usually 

 better, however, to feed from fifty to sixty pounds 

 and to supply the remainder of the nutrients from 

 other sources, to give variety to the ration. 



Pasturing red clover 



When the purpose is to secure the best yield 

 of forage, it is not desirable to pasture red clover, 

 although it is an excellent pasture plant, and is 

 well liked by all farm stock. The tramping of 

 animals will soon kill many of the stools, injur- 

 ing the stand, and causing a smaller yield in later 

 cuttings. Eed clover is an important constituent 

 of permanent pastures, generally insuring a larger 

 yield the first season than grass alone. 



