288 CLOVERS 



doubted. But they can soon learn to relish it. It 

 has been praised both for milk and meat produc- 

 tion; hence, the aim should be to have it in all 

 permanent pastures. In some of these it may be 

 necessary to sow a few pounds of seed per acre at 

 the first. If the grazing is not too close, the plants 

 thereafter will sufficiently re-seed the land. It has 

 been found quite possible in short rotations to se- 

 cure pasture from Japan clover without sowing it 

 on land on which it has once grown. But to accom- 

 plish this effectively, the grazing must not be so 

 close as to preclude a self-seeding. By growing such 

 plants for winter and spring grazing, as turf oats 

 and sand vetches, and then grazing the Japan clo- 

 ver, which will grow later on lands thus managed, 

 grazing may be furnished indefinitely from year to 

 year. 



Harvesting for Hay Japan clover is a good 

 hay plant when grown on strong soils. The quality 

 is good also when grown under adverse conditions, 

 but the quantity is deficient. On good soils, the 

 yield is from I to 2 tons per acre, the average being 

 about i}4 to i J/2 tons. The hay is also quite mer- 

 chantable in Southern markets. It is considered 

 superior to baled timothy timothy brought in from 

 the North especially when fed to cows producing 

 milk. Japan clover is best cut when the plants are 

 in full bloom. But harvesting is frequently deferred 

 to a period somewhat later where self-seeding of the 

 land is desirable. Late cutting, however, lowers the 

 quality of the hay, both as regards palatability and 

 digestibility. Much that has been said as to the 



