22 
Colorado Experiment Station 
ground. If cut below these sprouts the crop will be killed. If cut 
high there will be no danger of this. 
Sweet Clover becomes very woody and a bitter principle 
(cumerin) which it contains is very strongly developed as the plant 
approaches full bloom. Consequently care should be taken to cut 
the crop as soon as the shoots for the next crop commence to appear. 
If this is done a more palatable hay of a very much less bitter quality 
with less waste will be produced. 
THE GRAINS FOR HAY 
A large use is already being made of many of the grains for 
both hay and pasture. Winter wheat and rye each make fairly good 
late fall and summer pasture. These two grains are the only ones 
at all well adapted for pasture purposes, but they are very well 
adapted for dry land annual pastures. In the cooler regions, and in 
the northern and northwestern parts of the Colorado Plains, rye is 
probably preferable. In the warmer portions, winter wheat will be 
preferabR. Wheat, oats, beardless barleys, rye and emmer will each 
make a good quality of hay if harvested when the seed is in the milk 
or soft dough stage. Often these crops will make profitable hay 
yields, the season taken into consideration, when the grain which is 
produced upon them would not be worth harvesting. 
When grown for hay, these crops are planted and cared for 
as they would be for grain. For pasture purposes, winter wheat, and 
rye should be seeded in July; for hay purposes the latter part of 
September is preferable where the crop is to be harvested the follow¬ 
ing year. Barley and emmer can b-" seeded in March if conditions 
are such that the land can be worked. Oats should not usually be 
seeded until the middle of April at least, on acount of possible injury 
from late spring frosts. Wheat and rye should be seeded at the rate 
of about 30 to 35 pounds of seed per acre. Oats should be seeded 
at the rate of from 40 to 50 pounds; hulless barley should be seeded 
at the rate of 50 to 60 pounds, and hulled barley at about 60 pounds 
for hay purposes. Emmer should be seeded at the rate of 60 to 70 
pounds. Each of these crops should be seeded with a press drill to 
obtain best results. 
STOCK MELONS 
Another source of possible late fall and early winter succulent 
feed, is S^^-^eV INHlons. St'^ct' AT^lons look vei'v much like w^i'er- 
melons, but have a very much thicker rind. Experiments at Eads 
and Ch''venn'^ Wells show that stock will eat these m-^lons with 
relish. Thev make an excellent sod crop and if weeds are kept down 
vn‘l1 do wed on old lands. They are best adapted to the hotter por¬ 
tions of the eestern and southeastern parts of the State. Th^ Rnd 
should be well prepared, and if sod land, the sod should be rolled 
Bat immediately behind the plow. The melons should be planted 
in hills at least 10 feet apart each way. On sod land they need very 
