CRIMSON CLOVER 253 



manure; second, it does not under some conditions 

 grow satisfactorily with other crops ; and third, when 

 grazed down in the autumn the covering thus re- 

 moved renders the plants much more liable to perish 

 in the winter. \Mien, howeser, it is sown early in 

 the season, as in July, along with Dwarf Essex rape, 

 or even alone, much grazing may be furnished, even 

 though the clover should not survive the winter. 



It may be grazed by horses, mules, cattle, sheep 

 or swine, but \A'hen grazed with cattle and sheep, it 

 is probable that some danger from hoven or bloat 

 will be present, as when grazing other kinds of clo- 

 ver. (See page 94.) This danger, however, will be 

 lessened, if not entirely removed, when nurse crops 

 are grown with the clover, except in the case of rape. 

 The grazing should not begin when the plants are 

 small, lest the growth should be too much hindered 

 at a season when growth is critical. 



Harvesting for Hay. — Crimson clover is ready 

 to be cut for hay when coming into, and a little be- 

 fore it is in, fullest bloom. Some authorities claim 

 that it should be harvested when the blooms begin 

 to appear. It should certainly not be allowed to pass 

 the stage of full bloom, lest the hay when cured 

 should prove hurtful to horses and possibly to other 

 live stock, because of the presence of hair balls, 

 which are then liable to form from the hairs so 

 numerously found on this plant. These balls pro- 

 duce death by forming an impermeable wedge in 

 the intestines of horses, thereby impeding and in 

 some instances totally arresting the process of di- 

 gestion. These balls, almost circular in form, are 



