6 FARMERS' BULLETIN 820. 



the first crop. In addition to its value for pasture, grazing induces 

 the plants to send out many young shoots close to the ground, so 

 that when the plants are permitted to mature seed a much larger 

 number of stalks are formed than would be the case if the first crop 

 were cut for hay. The hay crop is likely to be cut so close to the 

 ground that the plants will be killed, whereas but little danger of 

 killing the plants arises from close pasturing early in the season. 

 Excellent stands of sweet clover will produce an abundance of pas- 

 turage for two to three mature steers per acre from early spring 

 to the middle of June. 



Cattle which are pasturing on sweet clover alone crave dry feed. 

 Straw has been found to satisfy this desire and straw or hay should 

 be present in the meadow at all times. After stock are removed 

 from the field it is an excellent plan to go over it with a mower, 

 setting the cutter bar so as to leave the stubble 6 to 8 inches high. 

 This will even up the stand, so that the plants will ripen seed at 

 approximately the same date. 



Experiments by many farmers in the Middle West show that sweet 

 clover is an excellent pasture for dairy cattle. When cows are turned 

 on sweet clover from grass pastures the flow of milk is increased and 

 its quality improved. Other conditions being normal, this increase in 

 milk production will continue throughout the summer, as the plants 

 produce an abundance of green forage during the hot, dry months 

 when grass pastures are unproductive. If pastures are handled prop- 

 erly they will carry at least one milk cow to the acre during the 

 summer months. 



In many parts of the country sweet clover has proved to be an 

 excellent pasturage crop for hogs. When it is utilized for this pur- 

 pose it usually is seeded alone and pastured for two seasons. The 

 hogs may be turned on the field the first year as soon as the plants 

 have made a 6-inch growth. From this time until late fall an 

 abundance of forage is produced, as pasturing induces the plants to 

 send out many tender, succulent branches. Pasturing the second 

 season may begin as soon as growth starts in the spring. If the 

 field is not closely grazed the second season it is advisable to clip it 

 occasionally, leaving an 8-inch stubble, so as to produce a more suc- 

 culent growth. 



An acre of sweet-clover pasture ordinarily will support 20 to 30 

 shotes in addition to furnishing a light cutting of hay (fig. 2). 

 For the best growth of the hogs, they should be fed each day 2 

 pounds of grain per hundredweight of the stock. Hogs are very 

 fond of sweet-clover roots and should be ringed before being turned 

 on the pasture. The tendency to root may generally be overcome 

 by adding some protein to the grain ration. Meat meal serves 

 this purpose very well. 



