THE GRASSES, MEADOWS, ETC. 117 



drying, is partially converted into woody fibre, a form in 

 some degree, equally removed from the nutritive properties 

 of the green herbage, as slabs or saw dust from the life-sus- 

 taining principles, yielded by fresh, young boughs and twigs. 

 When there is mismanagement in the curing process, result- 

 ing in fermentation, the saccharine matter, so abundant in 

 the juices of good grass, and so essential to some of the con- 

 stituents of milk, is converted into alcohol and carbonic acid, 

 both of which rapidly escape, and would be useless to the 

 animal if retained. A series of careful experiments has 

 been made, which showed the important fact, that a cow, 

 thriving on 100 to 120 Ibs. grass per day, required nine 

 pounds of barley or malt in addition to this quantity, when 

 converted into hay. This is stated as illustrating a general 

 principle, without assigning to it any definite or uniform ra- 

 tio of deterioration, which varies with every variety of grass, 

 and the period and manner of curing. 



THE CLOVERS, 



Sometimes, improperly called grasses, are botanically ar- 

 ranged in the order, leguminosce, under the same head with 

 the bean, pea, locust and vetches. More than 160 species 

 of clover have been detected by naturalists. Their proper- 

 ties and characteristics are totally unlike the grasses, with 

 which they agree, only in their contributing in a similar 

 manner to the support of farm-stock. There are many va- 

 rieties cultivated abroad, but the attention of farmers in this 

 country, has been limited to a very few. 



THE COMMON RED OR NORTHERN CLOVER, ( Trifolium 

 pratense,) a biennial, and occasionally, on calcareous soils, a 

 triennial, is the species most generally in use in the United 

 States. This is a hardy, easily-cultivated variety, gro wing 

 luxuriantly on every properly-drained soil, of sufficient 

 strength to afford it nutriment. It has numerous, strong, 

 well-developed stems, branching outwardly and vertically 

 from a single seed, each bearing broad, thick leaves, which 

 are surmounted by a large, reddish, or purple flower. By the 

 analysis of Davy, the whole plant yields an amount of nu- 

 tritive matter, fully equal to any other of the clovers. 



Mode of Cultivation. Clover may be sown broadcast, 

 either in August or September, or early in the spring, with 

 most of the cereal grains, or the cultivated grasses ; or it 

 may profitably constitute a crop by itself. The quantity of 

 seed required per acre, depends on the kind of soil. On well 



