142 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION 



2. If the land is not already inoculated the seed 

 must be. 



3. Either for pasture or to plow under to improve the 

 soil, the ''biennial white" variety will give the best results 

 and should be seeded in small grain in the spring. 



4. The crop should be permitted to make a good 

 growth the first fall. It should reach a height of 12 to 15 

 inches before turning the stock on so the plants can de- 

 velop a deep root system. 



MLui J . : ■ 



Common Objections Not Serious 



The three objections often mentioned in connection 

 with sweet clover are that the cows will not eat it readily, 

 that it sometimes causes bloat, and that it occasionally 

 taints the milk. I spent one entire summer visiting dairy- 

 men who had their cows on sweet clover pasture and yet I 

 have never seen anyone who put his cows on the sweet 

 clover when it was young and tender who experienced any 

 difficulty, after the first day or two, in getting his cows to 

 eat it. 



Tainted milk can be avoided by having a little dry 

 roughage available to the cows to keep their bowels in 

 good condition. This is especially important when cows 

 are first turned onto sweet clover pasture. Many dairy- 

 men in Illinois are pasturing their cows on sweet clover 

 and are shipping milk to cities and have no objections 

 whatever because of a sweet clover flavor in the milk. 



When sweet clover has not been frosted, I have never 

 heard of a serious case of bloat if the cows are kept con- 

 tinuously on it, night and day, and are given access to a 

 little dry straw in the pasture. 



Thus the three common objections to sweet clover as 

 a pasture come to naught when put to the test in intelli- 

 gent farm practice while its advantages, in that it saves 

 land, labor and the cow's energy, and thus produces more 

 milk and profit per cow, per acre, and per man, make it 

 a most valuable crop to the dairy farmer. 



