^OVEMBER 15, 1915 



959 



SWEET CLOVER IN KANSAS. 



1 liolil in my hand a very important 

 bulletin jubt sent out from the State Board 

 of AgTioiilture of Kansas. It contains 38 

 pages in regard to sweet clover, illustrated 

 with numerous cuts. From it 1 make two 

 extracts : 



The first is in regard to sweet clover for 

 honey, and the second contains the impor- 

 tant fact that cattle will eat the straw after 

 thrashing out the seed. I think it has been 

 several times mentioned that after cattle 

 and perhaps other stock acquire an appe- 

 tite for sweet clover they will eat with 

 avidity the dry stalks after the leaves and 

 seed have fallen off. 



KANSAS SWEETCI-OVKR EXrERIBNCE. 



Sweet, clover is the best plant for bees I ever saw. 

 Two years a?o I sold 940 pounds of honey from 

 sixteen stands of bees, besides what we used in the 

 family and gave away. It was as white as white- 

 clover honey, and tasted just as well. 



I liave tried it for pasture for cows by sowing it 

 on alfalfa ground and disking it in. It prevents 

 bloat, as the bitter taste of it, called couniarin, pre- 

 vents bloaf. I have used it for hog pasture. Hogs 

 are very fond of it. 



I use the yellow sweet clover. It does not grow 

 as rank as the whit« variety, and is earlier. It 

 commenced to bloom the last week in April and 

 bloomed continuously until July 10. It will grow in 

 the shade, and in places where alfalfa will not grow. 

 It is a bicTinial, and dies out the third year; but if 

 allowed to do so it will reseod itself. It is quite 

 difiTwult to secure the seed, as it shatters so, and 

 requires a huUer to get clean seed. It will bear 

 cutting the same as alfalfa, but must be allowed to 

 seed itself the second year. It does not require the 

 ground to be plowed. Disking and harrowing is all 

 that is necessary. — John W. Wilson in Kansa-s 

 Farmer. 



STOCK DEVOURFD SHREDDED STEMS. 



When the sweet clover is permitted to seed, tlie 

 stems are very woody and hard. I concluded before 

 I thrashed the stuff for seed, the seed was all I 

 would get out of it, and that I would have to let 

 the dry leafless stems rot. There is where I was 

 surprised pleasantly. T not only made a good prof- 

 it from the seed, but the live stock ate those shred- 

 ded stalks ravenously. Of course, the thrashing- 

 machine tore the dry stalks to pieces — shredded 

 them. The cattle seemed to enjoy it as much a.s 

 ensilage. 



As a pasture I know it is hard to beat. It will 

 ?row on land where alfalfa and red clover won't 

 do well. But after sweet dnver has been there a 

 few years and thoroughly inoculated and built up 

 the soil, red clover and alfalfa will do well. — H. L. 

 Dawson, Osage Citj', Kan. 



I presume this sweet-clover pamphlet 

 may be had by applying to the Kansas 

 State Board - f Agriculture, Topeka, calling 

 for circular 44. 



FETERITA IN KANSAS. 



This same bulUetin contains 28 pages 

 devoted to feterita. The matter is well 

 illustrated with beautiful engravings show- 

 ing both sweet clover and feterita, and 

 these are very valuable documents. The 

 statement in regard to feterita emphasizes 



the fact that it will grow during a dry 

 apell and produce a crop when corn and 

 almost everytliing else was a failure. I am 

 surjirised, however, that nothing is said 

 about it as a substitute for wheat in mak- 

 ing bread, cakes, etc. Our own feterita 

 here in I\ledina has been slowly maturing 

 because of the cool weather and almost in- 

 cesant rains all summer long. As I write, 

 Sept. .30, just a few of the heads have suf- 

 ficiently matured so that it will be just right 

 to cook as a bi eakfast food ; and I for one 

 consider it a most delicious dish. The seed 

 is ver}^ easily separated from the heads, 

 and, in fact, it will drop off if it is not 

 harvested af just about tlie right time; and 

 1 cannot imagine a much shorter cut from 

 producer to consumer. Just lay the heads 

 in the sun for a day or tAVo, thrash out the 

 grain, and boil it as you would boil rice or 

 oatmeal. Put on some honey, and butter 

 and cream ; and if you do not like feterita 

 1 shall be surprised. 



SWEKT CLOVER NO LONGER A DESPISED WEED. 



It has been toward forty years since I 

 began to declare that sweet clover is not a 

 weed, and that no clover should ever be 

 classed with noxious weeds. Those of you 

 who have read Gleanings for forty years 

 know what a storm of abuse I have been 

 receiving for the stand T have taken, up to 

 the last three or four years. I have just 

 looked back through the old numbers of 

 GLEANINGS; and 1 find there letters from 

 beekeepers who were feeding sweet clover 

 to cows and other stock, and the stock ate 

 it in preference to anything else, and did 

 better on it. With such testimony as that, 

 coming more or less for forty years, every 

 little while somebody Avas stubborn and 

 contrary, and declared it would be the ruin- 

 ation of farmers, like Canada thistles, if it 

 once got a start. This whole matter was 

 brought to mind just now by the receipt of 

 a pamphlet of about 25 pages, sent out by 

 the I. H. C. Agricultural Extension De- 

 partment, Harvester Building, Chicago. It 

 is sent to any address for 4 cts., or for 3 

 cts. each in quantities. T will give you just 

 a glimpse of wliere sweet clover now stands 

 by quoting one letter from the pamphlet 

 mentioned : 



THREE THOUSAND ACRES OF SWEET CLOVER; GARDEN 



CITY BANKER GIVES SOME REASONS WHY HE 



BELIEVES IN IT. 



About eight years ago I started to feed this sweet 

 clover, the white-blooming (Melilotus alba) variety, 

 which is considered the best ; and from watching luy 

 stock feeding on it I bpgan to believe that they did 

 better on sweet-clover hay than almost any other 

 roughness, so I commenced to spread the fields and 

 got to sowing it until iiow I have about 3000 acres 

 — (his, too, on good alfalfa land when clover seed is 

 lii;ili and alfalfa seed is cheap; consequently I must 



