288 CLOVERS 



doubted. But they can soon learn to relish it. It 

 has been praised both for milk and meat produc- 

 tion; hence, the aim should be to have it in all 

 permanent pastures. In some of these it may be 

 necessary to sow a few pounds of seed per acre at 

 the first. If the grazing is not too close, the plants 

 thereafter will sufficiently re-seed the land. It has 

 been found quite possible in short rotations to se- 

 cure pasture from Japan clover without sowing it 

 on land on which it has once grown. But to accom- 

 plish this effectively, the grazing must not be so 

 close as to preclude a self-seeding. By growing such 

 plants for winter and spring grazing, as turf oats 

 and sand vetches, and then grazing the Japan clo- 

 ver, which will grow later on lands thus managed, 

 grazing may be furnished indefinitely from year to 

 year. 



Harvesting for Hay — Japan clover is a good 

 hay plant when grown on strong soils. The quality 

 is good also when grown under adverse conditions, 

 but the quantity is deficient. On good soils, the ■ 

 yield is from i fo 2 tons per acre, the average being 

 about Ij4 to i^ tons. The hay is also quite mer- 

 chantable in Southern markets. It is considered 

 superior to baled timothy — timothy brought in from 

 the North-^especially when fed to cows producing 

 milk. Japan clover is best cut when the plants are 

 in full bloom. But harvesting is frequently deferred 

 to a period somewhat later where self-seeding of the 

 land is desirable. Late cutting, however, lowers the 

 quality of the hay, both' as regards palatability and 

 digestibility. Much that has been said as to the 



