SWEET CLOVER: UTILIZATION. 



15 



When fields of sweet clover contain only a medium-heavy stand 

 and when the plants have made no more than a 30-inch growth, a 5 

 to 6 inch stubble usually will be sufficient to insure a second crop, 

 but where fields contain heavy stands 15 to 25 plants to the square 

 foot it may be necessary to leave an 8-inch stubble. In many 

 fields examined in northern Illinois in June, 1916, heavy stands had 

 been permitted to make a growth of 36 to 40 inches before cutting. 

 In a number of these fields a very large percentage of the plants 

 were killed when an 8 to 12 inch stubble was left. (See fig. 5.) 

 A careful examination of such fields showed that the young branches 

 had started on the lower portions of the stalks and had died from 

 lack of light before cutting. In semiarid regions, where the planes 



FIG. 6. Shoe sole to be placed on the inner shoe of the mower, so that a high stubble 

 may be left when mowing sweet clover : A, End view of the back part of the sole ; 

 B, side view of the sole, showing general shape ; C, shape of the front end of the sole 

 when it is to be used on mowers having shoes of the type used on Deering machines ; 

 D, forward end of the sole represented in B. The forward end of the sole shown in 

 B and D should be made for machines having shoes of the type used on McCormick 

 mowers. 



do not make .as rapid growth as in humid sections, they may. as a 

 rule, be clipped somewhat closer to the ground without injury. 



On account of the difference in the growth that sweet clover makes 

 on different types of soil and on account of the difference in the 

 thickness of the stand obtained in different fields, it is impossible to 

 give any definite rule as to the proper height to cut the first crop. 



MOWER CHANGES FOR CUTTING SWEET CLOVER. 



It is good practice to replace the shoe soles of the mower with 

 higher adjustable soles, so that a stubble up to 12 inches in height 

 may be left when cutting sweet clover. Shoe soles such as are 

 shown in figures 6 and 7 may be made on any farm provided 



