936 FORAGE CROPS 
Harvest, yields and value 
If used primarily for soiling, harvest should 
begin when the plant is fully in head, and it 
may contimue until many of the heads become 
brown. This period will range from ten days to 
two weeks, depending on the soil and season. 
As a soiling crop, red clover should be fed 
with care at first, unless the animals have been 
accustomed to green forage of other kinds, as 
they are extremely fond of it, and there is 
danger that there will be a tendency to bloat. 
When they have been regularly fed on green for- 
age, and the quantity is regulated, no danger 
need be apprehended from this source, and the 
usual amount of fifty to sixty pounds per day 
may be used. 
With a good stand and sufficient moisture, the 
yields of red clover will range from six to ten tons 
per acre. It usually pays to allow it to stand for 
the second crop, which is also quite as serviceable 
for forage as the first, although the yield is smaller, 
—four to six tons per acre. The second cutting is 
usually ready in early August. 
Red clover varies in its composition according 
to the time of harvesting, although either when 
eut young, or allowed practically to mature, it is 
much richer in the nitrogenous compounds than 
are the grasses, but not so rich as alfalfa. The 
