MEADOWS AND PASTURES 193 



Alfalfa should be cut for hay when about one-tenth 

 of the heads are in blossom. If allowed to stand longer, 

 the hay is poorer, and the succeeding cuttings are de- 

 creased. 



182. Red Clover is the most important legume in 

 eastern United States. There are two varieties, the 

 common, medium or June clover (Trifolium pratense), 

 and the mammoth, sapling or 

 pea- vine clover (T. pratense per- 

 enne). The former is smaller 

 and about a month earlier than 

 the latter. The mammoth 

 clover matures with timothy, 

 which is a point of great advan- 



FIG. 99. A red clover plant, 

 tage in hay-making. The two It does not reproduce except from 



kinds cannot be distinguished 



by their seeds, hence the difficulty in always getting the 



desired kind. 



Red clover requires good soil. There are many farms 

 that are now too poor to grow it. The soil should be well 

 drained and should not be acid. The first steps in getting 

 clover on most farms where it fails are applications of 

 lime and manure. 



The root-borer usually kills most of the clover the 

 second year, but it does not prevent the production of 

 the first hay crop. 



Clover seed is about four times as expensive as timothy. 

 Four quarts are usually sown per acre. The seed weighs 

 60 pounds per bushel. 



Clover hay usually sells for about two-thirds as much 

 as timothy. Therefore, farmers usually sell timothy, and 



M 



