THE HAYS 



243 



the first season's growth does not usually get coarse and 

 woody, it may be cut the first season when the plant shows its 

 maximum growth in the fall. The second season the hay 

 should be cut just before the first bloom appears, as the plant 

 then rapidly becomes coarse, woody, and less palatable. It 

 is rather difficult to cure, and 

 care should be taken not to 

 shatter ofT the leaves. 



In chemical composition, 

 sweet clover hay is about the 

 same as alfalfa. In feeding 

 value, good sweet clover hay 

 is a httle less valuable than 

 alfalfa hay. Its chief draw- 

 back is its bitter taste, which 

 often causes animals to refuse 

 it at first. The bitter taste 

 is not present in the young 

 shoots but only in the older, 

 tougher stalks. However, stock can be readily induced to 

 eat it, and once they acquire a taste for it no difficulty is 

 experienced. It is used especially for cattle and sheep. 



Crimson clover is an annual grown in the South Atlantic 

 States. It does not make a satisfactory hay on account 

 of the small, rigid, barb hairs which occur on the ripened 

 head of the plant. These hairs may form balls in the diges- 

 tive tract of the horse and cause serious trouble or even 

 death. If it is used for hay, it should be cut at the time of 

 blooming. 



Japan clover, or lespedeza is an annual grown extensively 

 in the South. It furnishes from one to four tons of hay per 



Fig. 57. — A crimson clover plant. 

 (Livingston, Field Crop Production.) 



