FEEDS THE CALCULATION OF RATIONS 191 



amount of concentrates necessary and by shortening the 

 feeding period. For dairy cows, clover hay is a splendid 

 roughage, being rich in protein and in mineral elements. It 

 is excellent for young stock on account of its high content of 

 bone- and muscle-producing materials. Clover is especially 

 valuable as a feed for hogs. 



Crimson clover makes a hay of fair quality when cut early; 

 if cut late, the blossoms are covered with very small barbed 

 heads which may accumulate in spherical balls in the stom- 

 achs of horses, and in some cases may stop up the intestines 

 so that death may ensue. 



Japanese clover on rich land yields a hay of good quality. 



Canadian field peas or common field peas are grown in the 

 Northern States along with oats for hay. This hay is both 

 nutritious and keenly relished and fills very much the same 

 place in the North as oats and vetch do in the South. 



Cowpea vines are harvested for hay in the Southern States. 

 The vines should be cut about the time that the first pods 

 begin to ripen, in order that a large yield may be secured 

 and that the leaves may be cured along with the vines. It 

 has been found that the leaves make up about 30 per cent of 

 the weight of the hay and that they are much richer in pro- 

 tein than are the stems. Cowpea hay can be successfully 

 substituted for a part of the concentrate for dairy cows and 

 for fattening steers. It can be used for a maintenance 

 ration for mules on Southern farms during the winter 

 months when they are not at work. 



Hairy vetch is adapted to a large part of the United 

 States and makes a comparatively easily cured and nutri- 

 tious hay. It should be sowed along with a cereal to support 

 the vines. In the South these fields furnish good pasturage 

 during the winter months when the land is dry enough 

 for animals to walk on it. 



Soybeans are planted for a hay crop to some extent, and 

 the cured vines yield a nutritious hay, which can be pro- 

 duced at a low cost. Soybeans are more erect in their 



