84 SOILING CROPS AND THE SILO. 



be proper to sow it amid grain stubbles and to cover 

 it with the harrow. It is manifest that the methods 

 of sowing this crop are various. To so great an 

 extent is this true that it would not be prudent to try 

 to give directions that would precisely meet the needs 

 of each locality. 



Cultivation. — Clover does not require any culti- 

 vation in the sense in which drilled corn and sorghum 

 call for the same. But it is important that it shall 

 not be grazed too closely the first season, lest its 

 power to withstand winter weather shall be unduly 

 weakened. In a large majority of instances it 

 should not be pastured or mowed the first year when 

 it has been sown with a nurse crop. But in some 

 seasons it may grow so rank that by its own weight 

 it would smother underneath the snow, unless pas- 

 tured more or less. In some localities quite favor- 

 able to the growth of clover, it will produce seed the 

 first year unless means are taken to prevent it from 

 doing so. To allow the plants to produce seed the 

 first year will materially tend to weaken their growth 

 the second year. To prevent such a result, such 

 clover should be cut by the mower set high and when 

 it is coming into bloom. The plants cut ofif should 

 be allowed to lie where they fell. They will act as 

 a mulch to protect the crop. But when clover is 

 sown early and not along with a nurse crop, there 

 may be instances, not a few, when it would be advis- 

 able to cut it for hay or green food. 



Feeding. — The harvesting of green clover for 

 soiling in all its varieties may begin as soon as the 

 first heads appear, but more food will be secured if 

 the cutting is deferred until the crimson tint on the 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



