118 DESCRIPTION OF FEEDING STUFFS 



mostly for the purpose of seed production; for forage purposes it 

 is, as a rule, sown with timothy, and with this plant forms the main 

 hay crop in eastern and northern United States. Clover furnishes 

 two or three crops a year. The yields obtained vary from two to five 

 tons per acre, according to the season and the fertility of the soil. 

 The yield of the last crop is especially variable and is frequently 

 too small to be worth while cutting. If it is not cut, the clover 

 is generally pastured by cattle or sheep. At early stages of growth, 

 clover is very low in dry matter, viz., less than 10 per cent, and 

 relatively small yields of hay are secured from early cuttings. On 

 good land very heavy yields are obtained, aggregating 16 to 

 20 tons of green clover for the season. The tendency of green 

 clover to cause bloat in cattle and sheep may be overcome by feed- 

 ing some dry forage prior to turning on to pasture, or by plac- 

 ing hay or straw in feed racks in the field. According to Henry, 

 cattle and sheep will resort instinctively to the dry feed when 

 bloat threatens. 6 



Experience and chemical analyses have shown that the best time 

 to cut red clover for hay is when about one-third of the heads have 

 turned brown. The crop then yields the maximum amounts of 

 total dry matter and digestible nutrients. Red clover hay is an 

 excellent feed for dairy cows, sheep, pigs, and all kinds of. young 

 stock. It ranks second to alfalfa in feeding value for these animals. 

 Clover hay is less adapted to working horses on account of its 

 liability to dustiness. This is a disadvantage that all legume hay 

 has, compared with that from grasses, and comes from the larger 

 proportion of leaves in the former; these are brittle and readily 

 crumble into dust unless the crop is carefully cured and handled. 



Clover makes an excellent supplementary feed to the corn plant, 

 timothy, and other crops grown on the farm, as these are, in general, 

 of a starchy character and low in protein and mineral substances. 

 In the feeding of growing animals or dairy cows clover may, there- 

 fore, make up a part of the ration to great advantage, and is much 

 relished by them. 



Besides being a valuable hay and soiling crop, clover makes a 

 good silage crop, if properly put up in air-tight, tall silos. The 

 main conditions for making good clover silage, or silage from other 

 legumes, will be further discussed in the chapter on silos. Even 

 well-preserved clover silage, as that of other legumes, has often a 



6 A solution of formaldehyde is often a good remedy for clover or 

 alfalfa bloat, viz., 40 c.c. formaldehyde to a quart of water for cows, and 

 one-fourth of this amount for sheep (Kentucky Circular 5; California 

 Cultivator 1915, p. 647). 



