SWEET CLOVER: UTILIZATION. 21 



The first crop the second season will produce approximately two- 

 thirds as much silage to the acre as corn when it is cut at the time it 

 should be cut for hay. The second crop may then be harvested for 

 seed. When sweet clover is handled in this manner, approximately 

 two-thirds of the total corn acreage which would be cut for silage 

 may be permitted to mature, as the first crop of sweet clover will re- 

 place the corn silage, while the seed crop ordinarily will bring as 

 much per acre as the corn. In addition to this, the roots and stubble 

 will add large quantities of vegetable matter to the soil. 



Some farmers do not cut sweet clover for silage until it is in full 

 bloom. When this is done. 10 to 12 tons of silage will be obtained 

 per acre, but the plants will be killed by the mowing. 



FIG. 11. Cutting sweet clover with a grain binder for silage. 



When the green plants are ensiled, the crop preferably should be 

 cut with a grain binder. (See illustration on title-page and fig. 11.) 

 This will solve the difficulty of cutting a high stubble and will at the 

 same time bind the plants so that they may be run through the silage 

 cutter without difficulty. Green plants, and especially the first crop 

 of the second season, contain too much moisture to be run into the 

 silo immediately after cutting. In some cases quantities of juice 

 have been pressed out of the bottom of the silo, and as a result the 

 silage settled considerably. Analyses of the juice from one silo 

 showed that it contained 0.23 per cent protein and 2 per cent carbo- 

 hydrates. This loss of juice may be overcome by permitting the 

 bundles to remain in the field just as they come from the binder un- 

 til the plants are wilted thoroughly. Straw or corn stover may be 

 placed in the bottom of the silo to absorb some of the juice. If the 



