RED CLOVER 201 



it on the load, but leave it fluffy and open. Great 

 care should be taken that the straw is dry. Just a 

 little toughness will waste seed surprisingly. It 

 should hull out by rubbing in the hand and the 

 chaff crush dry. If a little tough, 'one may waste 

 much seed. The best time is when a slight wind is 

 in the south and a bright sun is shining. 



Second Girowth Clover. — Fall treatment of a 

 clover field is very often neglected. The second 

 crop may be cut for hay, grown for seed or pas- 

 tured. There is no reason why a profitable second 

 crop cannot be secured, but the use to be made of 

 this is a question with many growers and a matter 

 of more or less dispute. 



If intended for seed, the first crop should be cut 

 early when it is just beginning to bloom. When 

 this is done the second crop will have more vigor 

 and produce more seed. It is always best to cut 

 before full bloom has been reached, because then 

 it contains the largest per cent of protein, has less 

 crude fiber and is more valuable for feed. The 

 Maine experiment station reports that when heads 

 are first forming, clover has 23 per cent of protein; 

 heads formed, 18 per cent; full bloom, 14 per cent; 

 some heads dead, 13 per cent, and all heads dead, 

 12 per cent. So when cut early the second growth 

 is not only better, but the feeding value is greater. 



For seed, the second crop should grow until the 

 first heads are ripe and begin to shell. If the later 

 heads contain the most and largest seed, they should 

 be ripened in preference. It should be cured in 

 small cocks and these turned over when dry on top. 

 The seed may be threshed out with a flail and 

 fanned, or the heads themselves sown for home 

 use. As insects are very troublesome, it is seldom 



