100 ELEMENTS OF FARM PRACTICE 



Arithmetic: 



1. One acre of clover and timothy will produce 2 tons of hay. 

 How much does it cost per ton, if it cost $6.22 per acre to raise it? 

 How much does it cost per ton, if $4.00 per acre is added for land rent? 



2. If hay yields but one and one half tons per acre, how much 

 does it cost per ton, if it costs $6.22 per acre to raise it? How much 

 does it cost per ton if $4.00 per acre is added for land rent? 



3. If clover hay is worth $8.00 per ton compared with bran at 

 $20.00 per ton, how much is bran worth when clover hay is worth 

 simply the cost of growing it? 



CLOVER 



As clover is one of the most valuable field crops, it is 

 important that every one know something of its habits and 

 of the conditions favorable to its growth. 



Varieties. — There are several varieties of clover, but 

 only four of the varieties are important in the Central West. 

 These are Mammoth, Medium Red, Alsike and White. 



Mammoth Clover is very much like medium red. In 

 fact, it is very hard to distinguish one from the other. The 

 Mammoth is much coarser than the medium red, and on 

 that account does not make so good a quality of hay. Its 

 chief value is as a green crop to plow under, though it is 

 often used for hay, pasture or seed. 



Medium Red is easily distinguished from alsike and 

 white clover, as it is larger and each leaflet is marked by 

 a V shaped, lighter colored streak near its center. The 

 red blossoms aid, also, in distinguishing this variety of, 

 clover. It will be noticed that nearly or quite all the stems 

 of this clover are covered with fine hair. These hairs are 

 objectionable, as they have a tendency to gather dust, thus 

 making dusty hay, unless very carefully cured. It is 

 usually a biennial, that is, as a rule, it lives but two years. 

 It is usually sown with some grain crop, called a nurse 

 crop. The clover plants are very small during the early 

 part of summer, and do not grow much until the grain crop 

 is cut. During the fall the clover grows very rapidly; but 

 it does not produce a crop until the next year, the second 

 year of its growth, when it produces two crops — two hay 

 crops or a hay and a seed crop. The second crop is the 

 one usually saved for seed. After the two crops are cut, 

 the plants usually die, as they have lived their life. An 

 occasional plant may live over, and considerable clover 



