32 FARMERS' BULLETIN 797. 



be cut for hay. When untimely droughts appear the plants may be 

 killed if the grain is not cut as early as possible. 



In the South and in some sections of the Eastern and North- 

 Central States where the soil contains an abundance of limestone 

 and is well inoculated, a cutting of hay may usually be obtained after 

 a grain crop has been harvested. In other sections of the North in 

 only exceptionally favorable weather will more than pasturage be 

 obtained after the grain is cut. 



TREATMENT THE SECOND SEASON. 



One of the special advantages of sweet clover is that it produces 

 good pasturage somewhat earlier in the spring than most forage crops. 

 In the North, with the exception of the extreme northern portion 

 of the United States, it will furnish a cutting of hay in June or 

 excellent pasturage until that time and a crop of hay or seed in late 

 summer. In the South two cuttings of hay and a seed crop may be 

 liarvested. After maturing seed the plants die. It is a common 

 practice in many sections to pasture the crop until about June 10, 

 when the stock is removed and the plants are permitted to mature 

 seed. If the plants have not been grazed closely they should be 

 clipped at this time, so that the seed crop will ripen more evenly. 

 Sweet clover may be pastured during the entire second season's growth, 

 provided sufficient stock is kept on the field to prevent the growth 

 from becoming woody. If the plants become coarse the pasture may 

 be clipped, leaving an 8-inch stubble, so as to induce a new growth 

 which w T ill be more palatable. If it is desired to have the pasture 

 reseed itself stock should be removed at least eight w r eeks before 

 heavy frosts are expected, or only sufficient stock should be permitted 

 to remain on the pasture to keep some of the plants in check. 



SWEET CLOVER IN MIXTURES. 



Very little sweet clover thus far has been grown in mixtures with 

 other crops. A few farmers have sown red clover and sweet clover 

 together, but such a mixture has no advantage over sweet clover 

 seeded alone for hay, as sweet clover should be cut at least two weeks 

 before the red clover is ready to harvest. Sweet clover is being 

 seeded to some extent on native prairie sod in the Northwest, where 

 it is claimed it adds greatly to the value of the native grasses for pas- 

 turage. A thin seeding of sweet clover is often desired in bluegrass 

 pastures on this account. One of the best pastures in eastern Iowa 

 consists of a mixture of bluegrass, timothy, and sweet clover. The 

 Mississippi Agricultural Experiment Station recommends a mixture 

 of Johnson grass and sweet clover. In this mixture the first cutting 



