84 PERMANENT AND TEMPORARY PASTURES 



For meadows and pastures Alsike Clover is far superior to 

 White Clover, as it produces a crop tall enough for the scythe, 

 and materially adds to the total weight of hay. It also pro- 

 duces more keep and is better relished than White Clover. 

 On some soils Alsike will grow quite as much herbage as Red 

 Clover, and as the vegetation is principally composed of 

 leaves, care is requisite in the process of making hay, or the 

 leaves get broken off and are lost, especially as the plant is 

 more succulent than Red Clover and takes longer to make 

 into hay. 



The time of flowering approximates to that of Cow Grass, 

 and the nutritive value is highest at the flowering stage. The 

 plant is not hasty in getting old and pithy, as is the case with 

 Red Clover. After cutting, Alsike Clover shoots quickly, but 

 the growth is low, and the total of the aftermath only equal to 

 half the first cut. Still, the plant has a high value for pastures, 

 and is one of the best clovers for alternate husbandry. It 

 flourishes in the same deep moist soil as Timothy, and makes 

 an excellent companion to that grass. With Tall Oat Grass, 

 Italian Rye Grass, and Cocksfoot it also combines well and 

 yields excellent forage. 



For illustration, description, and chemical analysis, see 

 5s. Edition. 



TRIFOLIUM MINUS 

 {Yellow Suckling). 



This clover is by no means unworthy a place in a per- 

 manent mixture, for although it is an annual and the growth is 

 very small, yielding but scanty produce on the gravelly soils 

 and stony places where Yellow Suckling is generally found, yet 

 on the Greensand it is of considerable value, forming a dense 

 mass of herbage and seeding itself down every year. When 

 grown with Rye Grass, and cut before the plant gets old, it 

 makes excellent hay which is much relished by stock. In such 



