TIME OF CUTTING. 145 



able conditions of soil and weather, in seven or eight days 

 above the ground. Where grown by itself and drilled, the 

 rows should be not less than 15 to 18 inches apart; if 

 broadcasted, it is a good plan to send in the horse-hoes 

 and cut them out into rows at about the same in- 

 tervals. 



The after treatment of the crop is very simple. The hoe 

 should be freely used during its early growth, and the 

 drills kept as clear as possible of every weed. It is 

 generally more advisable not to touch it the first year, 

 but if it has been got in early, and the growth be 

 vigorous, and the plant very strong and healthy, it 

 may be cut late in the season say the end of August 

 or September taking care not to cut too close to the 

 growth, but to leave two or three inches of stem un- 

 touched; under no circumstances, however, ought it to be 

 pastured by any description of live stock, which we so fre- 

 quently see turned on the clovers to their great injury. 

 The following spring the growth commences early, and 

 under ordinary circumstances admits of being cut the first 

 week in May. This may generally be repeated a second 

 and a third time, beyond which it is not prudent to take 

 more in the second year. In after years, however, if due 

 attention be paid to the crop both as regards tillage and 

 manuring, four, five, and even six cuttings, from 12 to 18 

 inches high, may be obtained in the course of the season, 

 of a rich and succulent herbage, of a highly nutritive 

 character, and much relished by all descriptions of cattle. 

 To obtain these results the crop must be kept as free as 

 possible from weeds, and should receive a liberal dressing 

 of good farmyard manure in the winter, or an equivalent 

 in Peruvian guano mixed with gypsum as a top-dressing 

 in the spring, to keep up the condition of the field. 



The crop reaches its maximum productive power at 

 about the fifth year, after which the weeds, even with 



