154 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



period than blue grass. If the merits of sweet clover had 

 been known at the time, it would have been used in the Milk 

 Per Acre demonstration at the University of Illinois. But 

 now on many dairy farms, sweet clover is proving the full 

 sister and summer substitute of alfalfa. So the efficiency 

 of the legume ration is not limited to the winter feeding of 

 alfalfa, but it may be extended throughout the full year to 

 an equal or greater advantage by use of sweet clover pas- 

 ture. 



Sweet Clover Experience on 32 Farms. 



To find the results from farm experience in pasturing 

 sweet clover, a questionnaire was sent, and the replies from 

 thirty-two dairymen in different parts of Illinois show the 

 following facts: 



In general the evidence was very strong and enthusi- 

 astic in favor of sweet clover. Twenty-nine out of 31 an- 

 swers said that sweet clover did not impart a bad flavor to 

 the milk; two spoke of slight trouble. 



*'Did you experience any difficulty with bloat ?'^ Of 

 the 32 answers, 28 were *'no," two had a trifle of bloat, and 

 two dairymen each lost one cow by bloat, but admitted it 

 was their own fault because they turned the cows on hun- 

 gry and when the clover was wet with dew. 



SWEET CLOVER PASTURE SAVES LAND AND LABOR. 



Sweet clover pasture saves about one-fourth of the year's labor on 

 a dairy farm over feeding corn silage and alfalfa, besides giving the 

 cows six months of pasture freedom with all its benefits from exercise 

 in the open. 



Sweet clover embodies all of the total yield of nutrients in min- 

 erals and appetizing and toning-up effects attributed to alfalfa. 



Lack of legumes is the low factor in American agriculture today, 

 and the easiest way to increase the profits from dairy farms is to grow 

 more alfalfa and sweet clover. It is the most natural and practical way 

 of benefiting both the live stock and the soil. 



Fourteen farmers reported experience in pasturing 

 cows on sweet clover the first fall, after it was sown in small 

 grain in the spring. They had 170 acres of sweet clover or 

 an average of 12 acres per farm. It pastured 271 cows (or 

 cow equivalents in other stock), or 1.6 cows per acre for an 



