118 DESCRIPTION OF FEEDING STUFFS 



two to four 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, however, 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 placing 

 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. 



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. Eed 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 be dusty. This is a disadvantage that hay from all 

 legumes 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 clover 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. We 

 shall see that the crop must be siloed directly after being cut, before 

 it has lost much moisture, and that it is preferably run through a 

 cutter, and must be carefully distributed and packed in the silo so 

 as to exclude as much of the air as possible. Even well-preserved 

 clover silage, as that of other legumes, has often a strong and not 

 particularly pleasant odor, and is not quite as palatable to dairy 



