FOOD FROM PASTURES 309 



seed, and they will also live for a longer period. No other 

 variety of clover furnishes so much pasture in one season, 

 and none is so highly palatable. 



When clover is very rank and succulent, cattle and 

 sheep must be grazed on it with caution, especially at 

 first, otherwise loss may result from bloating. This danger 

 is lessened, ( I ) by giving the animals dry food before 

 'turning them on the clover to graze; (2) by leaving them 

 on the clover subsequently where this is practicable; (3) 

 by giving them access to some dry food all the while and 

 (4) by so arranging that some kind of grass will be pres- 

 ent in the clover in that degree that will reduce the danger 

 incurred to a minimum. Where clover is not grazed too 

 closely in the autumn, on some soils it reseeds itself and 

 thus perpetuates its growth. 



Mammoth clover will grow virtually in about the same 

 areas as the Common Red variety. The habit of growth, 

 however, in the two, differs considerably. The Mammoth 

 requires several weeks longer to reach a maximum of 

 growth, does not grow so rapidly after midsummer, and is 

 coarser in stem than the former. The danger to cattle 

 and sheep from bloat is much the same as with -the Com- 

 mon Red. Close pasturing in the late autumn is usually 

 more or less harmful to all clovers, but not equally so under 

 all conditions. Where seed is much grown from either the 

 Common Red or Mammoth clovers, they are frequently 

 grazed closely for a time after growth has begun. Such 

 grazing is not only grateful to the stock, but it has been 

 found favorable to abundant seed production. 



Alsike clover is perennial in its growth and increas- 

 ingly so as the conditions become more favorable. It 

 grows best in moist soils. It is even more hardy than the 

 Common Red and is fully as wide in its distribution. 

 Though of finer leaf growth than the Common Red, it is 

 not more palatable, takes longer to attain a maximum of 

 growth, and makes less growth relatively late in the season. 



