British Dairy Farming. 
145 
lucerne forms the principal portion, is 120 lbs. of lucerne, 3 lbs. 
of cake, 7 lbs. of lucerne-hay chopped with 20 lbs. of straw. In 
spring it is frequently used with chopped straw at the rate 
of 2J pounds to 1, and in summer with maize at the rate of 
1 pound to 2 J pounds of the maize. 
Trifolium and Rye-Grass. 
In the autumn of 1885 a piece of oat-stubble land of moderate 
quality, which was manured at the rate of sixteen loads to the 
acre, was ploughed for trifolium and rye-grass, a nice tilth 
being obtained. The seed was put in on December 1st at 
the rate of 11 lbs. of trifolium to 16 lbs. of Italian rye-grass 
per acre. It was broadcasted and harrowed in with a bush- 
harrow. The weather was favourable, and the ground was soon 
covered with beautiful green herbage, which remained through- 
out the winter the brightest piece in the neighbourhood. In 
the South of England, as on the Continent, it is a common 
plan to scratch up stubble with a harrow, and to broadcast, 
but there is no question that if only a shallow plough is given, 
this practice will be found more preferable. There is also an 
advantage in using rye-grass for mixing instead of sowing 
trifolium alone. The cows relish it much more, and thrive 
upon it better. The hay is also more valuable, and there is 
not the same necessity for ploughing up trifolium-stubble imme- 
diately after the crop is taken. In the majority of cases if this 
is done, there is no crop worth speaking of which can be taken 
during the same season, unless it is unusually propitious. Rye- 
grass almost invariably comes again, and if it is manured with 
liquid-manure a large second crop is obtained. In this instance 
the crop was made into hay, and yielded a little in excess 
of 3 tons to the acre. The stubble was ploughed up after a 
second cut, was again heavily manured, and sown a second time 
with trifolium, mixed on this occasion with a variety of the 
stronger grasses in order to form a ley of some years' duration, 
as in the case of the field adjoining. This was probably a 
risky operation, but it has so far succeeded. The objection to 
trifolium as a food for cows is a common one, and there is 
some reason in it, inasmuch as the stems are unusually tough 
and indigestible, but if it is chaffed when grown with rye-grass 
and mixed with roots, it is agreeably softened, and is cleaned 
up by the cattle which are not affected in their yield of milk 
or butter. The following analysis of trifolium-hay shows that 
the feeding ratio is not quite equal to 1 to 3. Water, 16'7 ; 
albuminoids, 12-2 ; crude fibre, 30-4 ; carbo-hydrates, 32-6 ; 
fat, '3. On the basis of these figures it is worth 85*. per ton 
VOL. XXIII. — S. S. L 
