338 WINTER KILLING AND REMEDIES. 



plauts are fed too closely. The frosts of s])rini; may kill th« 

 young plants. 



Winter Killiiii^ and Remedies. — lied clover not uufrequently 

 "winter kills" or ''heaves out,'' and the dead plants in spring 

 stick up out of the ground several inches, especially in winter, 

 when there has been little snow on the ground and frequent 

 alternations of freezing and thawing. To prevent winter killing 

 see that the plants are well established in autumn and that they 

 are not fed off too closely. Thorough tile drainage is a great 

 benefit. A moderate amount of tops left on the ground will 

 often be of some assistance, or a very thin mulch of straw put 

 on after the ground has first become well frozen. A mulching 

 of straw early in autumn has sometimes done more harm than 

 good. No attempt, at the North, should be made to save red 

 clover over to the third year, as such efforts are not successful. 



As spring approaches and the soil warms up it is rather dis- 

 couraging to find the clover killed out. The jiroprietor often 

 plows up the ground and jiuts in another crop, thus leaving the 

 land in a still worse condition for the next seeding to clover. 

 He very likely raises millet or Indian corn or rye or buys of his 

 neighbors a supply of winter feed. In case of partial winter 

 killing the writer cannot help thinking that too little attention 

 has been given '"to patching up", such meadows in spring. 

 By this is meant to harrow, re-seed, and, if possible, top dress 

 with some sort of manure. 



The Best Time for Cutting Clover for Hay.— The follow- 

 ing is from the pen of Prof. H. P. Arnisby: ''What has been 

 shown to be true of meadow hay in this respect applies also to 

 clover. The earlier it is cut the more concentrated and digesti- 

 ble the fodder, while as it grows older the crude fibre increases 

 and it becomes coarse and less easily digestible. In regard to 

 the best times for cutting clover the same rules apply as those 

 given for cutting grass. In regard to the advantages of early 



