84 FARM AND SCHOOL PROBLEMS. 



Sweet Clover Hay. 



For hay it should be cut just as it is coming into bloom and 

 is handled in much the same way as alfalfa. A second cutting 

 can usually be secured forty to sixty days later if not pastured. 

 The leaves shatter even worse than alfalfa and great care is 

 necessary in order to make good hay. It has also been cut and 

 put into the silo and fed successfully. 



CAUSE OF FAILURES. 



Many failures in growing alfalfa in the past have undoubt- 

 edly been due to lack of information. They may have been due 

 to some of the following reasons : 



1. A wet undrained soil. 



2. A sour soil needing lime. 



3. Seed bed poorly prepared. 



4. Need of innoculation. 



5. Poor seed, not properly tested. 



6. Soil not sufficiently rid of weeds. 



7. Clipping at the wrong time, or too close. 



8. Cutting at the wrong time. 



9. Pasturing too closely or at the wrong time. 

 10. Cutting too close to the ground. 



Important Facts. 



Alfalfa should be cut for hay when the new shoots are about 

 an inch in length. But little attention should be paid to the time 

 of blossoming. The alfalfa grower must get down on his knees 

 and examine the shoots that are coming on for the next crop. 

 If the alfalfa is cut before these shoots are sufficiently started or 

 after they are too long and are cut off by the mower, the crop 

 will be injured. 



Horses and sheep are more likely to injure alfalfa by pastur- 

 ing too closely than cattle or hogs. 



There is" very little reliable information to substantiate the 

 claim that alfalfa roots do damage to tile drains. 



Alfalfa hay will stand more rain than red clover. 



Alfalfa requires more care in pasturing than clover to pre- 

 vent bloating. 



