DESCRIPTION OF FEEDING-STUFFS 163 



too soon ; the best time is from the beginning to 

 the end of the flowering period. 



Sorghum (Kaffir corn), which is allied to maize, has 

 a less coarse straw, and may be cut several times in 

 the season. It is richer in sugar than maize and 

 when quite young it contains, like young linseed, a 

 substance which gives rise to the poisonous prussic 

 acid in the stomach, whereas later the sorghum is 

 non-injurious. 



4. The clovers, like all Leguminosae, are char- 

 acterised by a high percentage of crude protein, 

 which before flowering can be as much as 30-34% 

 of the dry matter. Considerably more non-protein 

 nitrogenous material is found in the crude protein 

 than in the grasses (p. 151). The digestibility of 

 the crude protein and of the nitrogen-free extract 

 substances is in general slightly higher in the 

 clovers than in the grasses, whilst the reverse is the 

 case with the crude fibre. 



Red clover, up to the time of flowering, is usually 

 used as a green food. At a later stage when used 

 for the same purpose, it is not nourishing enough to 

 be the sole food of animals and is then generally 

 made into hay. The second crop of red clover is 

 usually richer in crude protein and crude fibre, but 

 somewhat poorer in nitrogen-free extract. 



On account of its heating properties red clover 

 should only be fed in limited quantities to horses 

 and sheep, but it is very suitable for grown cattle. 



