ALSIKE CLOVER 211 



red, less time will suffice for curing it. It will also 

 cure more quickly along with some other grass than 

 if alone, since it does not then lie so closely in the 

 winrow or in the cock. Grasses, as a rule, cure 

 more quickly than clovers, and this also has a bear- 

 ing on hastening curing in clover when the two are 

 grown together, and also in lessening the degree of 

 the fermentation after the crop has been stored. Or- 

 dinarily, when the weather is bright, alsike clover 

 along with timothy may be cut in the forenoon, 

 tedded once or twice soon after cutting, raked into 

 small winrows the same evening and stored away the 

 following afternoon. When thus managed, the hay 

 loader may be used in lifting the hay from the win- 

 rows. Alsike clover growing alone could not be 

 cured thus quickly. Nor would it be wise in show- 

 ery weather to try and cure the crop without putting 

 it into cocks, whether grown alone or with some 

 other crop. When properly cured, the heads retain 

 much of their bloom and the stems much of their 

 greenness. 



The yields of hay vary greatly with the soil. On 

 dry, sandy uplands the yields of cured hay may not 

 exceed Yi ton, while on rich loam soils it may ex- 

 ceed 3 tons. Ordinarily, on good soils a combined 

 crop of alsike clover should yield from i J^ to 2 tons 

 per acre of very excellent hay. Some authorities 

 speak of getting two cuttings per year, but this is 

 not usual. Under quite favorable conditions it 

 would be possible to get two cuttings for soiling 

 uses, providing the first was taken when the plants 

 were coming into bloom. Usually, the growth of 



