THE CLOVERS 261 



Usually the seed may be mixed in the desired proportions 

 and applied together, as is the practice when clover is 

 seeded with a nurse crop. Twelve pounds of seed per 

 acre is considered a full seeding when the clover is seeded 

 alone. When mixed with timothy, from 6 to 10 pounds 

 of the clover seed may be mixed with the same amount of 

 timothy. Sometimes it is desirable to add a few pounds 

 of alsike or white clover seed, in which case the amount of 

 red clover seed is reduced correspondingly. 



262. Making clover hay. — The proper time to cut for 

 hay is when the plants are just past full bloom and a few 

 of the blossoms have turned brown. If cutting is delayed 



Fig. 91. — Cutting clover hay that gave a yield of over 31 tons per acre. 



very long after this time, many of the leaves, which are 

 easily broken off when the plant is ripe, will be lost and 

 the quality of the hay thereby greatly injured. If pos- 

 sible, the clover should be cut in the afternoon, since the 

 plants then contain less water than they do in the morning, 

 and a shorter time will be required for curing. Ordi- 

 narily, when the hay is first cut, it contains from 65 to 80 

 per cent of water, and before it may be stored in the stack 

 or mow with safety, the moisture content should be 



