SEEDING TO FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. 25 
will consequently be greater. When cutting is delayed until seeds 
have started to develop, the natural tendency of Red Clover and 
other biennial fodder plants is to die down; with Timothy and other 
grasses the effect is apparent not only in the aftermath but also in 
the crop of the succeeding year. In wild nature the next year’s 
crop would consist in part of young plants from seed which, under 
agricultural conditions, is frequently allowed to form but not to mature 
and drop. 
From the standpoint of the quality of the hay, nothing is gained 
and much may be lost by deferring cutting until the bloom is well 
advanced. The yield per acre is slightly increased during the few 
days between early and late flowering, but that small increase is 
obtained at the expense of a marked depreciation in quality; and if 
the aftermath or succeeding crops are taken into account, the total 
yield is actually reduced. 
When fodder crops that reach the early flowering stage at 
different times are sown together, as Early Red Clover and Timothy, 
the best time for the first cutting depends on the proportion of each. 
It will usually be found advisable, and in the end most economical, 
to cut when the early matuting clover is not more than two or three 
days past its best condition for hay-making. In dry, hot weather 
fodder crops ripen quickly, and a few days’ delay may then do as 
much damage as a much longer period would in cool weather with 
a moist soil. 
For hay, cutting is best done by machine mowers. ‘The harvest- 
ing of grass seed is commonly done with self-binders, the sheaves 
being stood together in small shocks to cure and ripen the seed. 
Close cutting for hay is reeommended. When the fodder crop 
consists largely of clovers and is heavy and lodged in patches, the 
cutter bar should be so adjusted as to get below the stalks, else the 
remaining stubble will be dangerous to the machinery in tedding 
and raking and will leave a worthless roughage to be collected with 
the next hay crop. The advantage of a smooth surface, produced 
by the use of the weeder following the grain drill and by spring 
rolling across the furrows, is best appreciated when a heavy and 
badly lodged crop of clover is to be cut. 
It is usually convenient to cut during that part of the day when 
the dew prevents the work of making and hauling. When, however, 
the clover crop is heavy and liable to collect on the divider when wet 
with dew, late afternoon cutting is desirable. Tedding or turning 
the green fodder should commence soon after it is cut. If the crop 
