136 
dried as hay, and eaten with much relish by the cows, seven 
in number. 
The last crop cut, Sept. 23, was very rich and succulent 
looking, and much relished in the green condition, as were 
the other crops not dried for hay. All of the live stock at 
the Station eat alfalfa with avidity, whether dried or green. 
In 1882, two plats of 100 sq. ft. each were planted to al- 
falfa. The seed bed was heavy, cold and retentive, with a 
very solid clay bed underlying at a depth of about three 
feet. The alfalfa grew and flourished, although sparingly 
fertilized, and in 1886 was apparently as strong and vigorous 
asin 1883. The first cutting from one of them, in 1886, 
yielded at the rate of over ten tons per acre of green fodder, 
and four crops were cut. No changes of weather or tem- 
erature seem to have affected this plant thus far as grown 
ere. Station experience warrants us in believing as de- 
sirable the trial of this crop on the farm for green food. 
SWEET CLOVER (Melztotus alba). 
e 
~ One plat of 100 square feet was sown in 1885 to this crop. 
The soil was clay loam, cold and retentive. The growth* 
the first year was of no special consequence. On April 12, 
1886, the new growth appeared where last seasons plants 
were located. On April 25, the first bloom was seen, and 
it is to be noted that plants were in bloom on this plat until 
late in the fall, after frosts. By May 8 the growth was 
very forward, the foliage profuse, heavy and of a deep green 
color. On May 11 the height of the plants averaged two 
feet, and the bed was a mass of luxuriant, rich green foliage. 
Fifty square feet of this was cut, yielding 52 lbs. of green 
a or at the rate of 45,292 lbs. per acre—an enormous 
yield. 
The green fodder of this plant, in its most inviting form, 
was offered to seven cows at a season when succulent food 
is most relished by live stock, i. e., in spring before it is 
usually accessible. One cow refused to eat at all, while 
six ate in varying degrees, some voraciously, others daintily. 
The interesting point is, that, these six cows suddenly 
stopped eating within five minutes of the time the fodder 
was first given them, and all refused absolutely to touch it 
at all thereafter. The horses of the farm ate it sparingly. 
The feeding value of this plant has been the subject of 
some discussion in this country.: Most of the lesser writers 
on agriculture do not refer to the Sweet Clover at all. Sin- 
clair in’ Hortus Gramineus Woburnensis, 1824, does not 
mention this species. A few years later, in 1836, Lawson? 
states that it is very rare, being only found in two or three 
a a a cesses sheets SSNS nnn 
4Acriculturalists Manual, 1836, p. 163-164. 
