158 THE FORAGE AND FIBER CROPS IN AMERICA 



the markets, -therefore, hay containing clover, unless of fancy 

 grade, usually sells for less than pure timothy hay. Red clover 

 does not make dense sod, and does not stand pasturing as well 

 as alsike or white clover, or the grasses. Moreover, clover 

 when pastured while the dew is on is liable to cause the death 

 of cattle through bloating. 



Red clover has a greater value in restoring the fertility of 

 the soil than alsike clover, probably because of the greater 

 amount of organic matter left in and on the soil, and because 

 of the greater depth of its tap root. On account of being suited 

 to grow readily with grain crops and with grasses it is better 

 adapted to a rotation of crops than alfalfa. 



168. Fertilizing Constituents per Acre. The Storrs Station 

 found a crop of red clover in full bloom, yielding 4,900 pounds 

 of dry matter per acre, to contain 138 pounds of nitrogen, 152 

 pounds of potash, and 32 pounds of phosphoric acid. The roots 

 and stubble contained, in addition, 44 pounds of nitrogen, 32 

 pounds of potash and 13 pounds of phosphoric acid. A ton of 

 rich stable manure may contain 10 pounds each of nitrogen and 

 phosphoric acid, and 8 pounds of potash. 1 



169. Feeding Value Compared with Timothy. The total 

 amount of digestible nutrients in 100 pounds of clover hay is 

 almost identical with that of 100 pounds of timothy hay. The 

 Pennsylvania Station has shown that the fuel value i.e., the 

 total energy which can be set free in the body of a steer 

 is nearly the same with both kinds of hay. The net available 

 energy, however, of clover hay when fed to a steer as a main- 

 tenance ration was found to be considerably less than that of 

 timothy hay. 2 (12) On the other hand, clover hay furnishes 

 more than three times as large a proportion of proteids as does 

 timothy hay. The practical application of these experiments 



1 Storrs School Sta. Bui. No. 6 (1890), p. 14. 



2 Pennsylvania Sta. Bui. No. 71 (1905). 



