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Show Questions of the Feed Lot Professor Herbert V. Mumford Illinois Crilcee of tgriculturt Sweet Clover for Forage 4tT J'EIZL Interested In the Invotipntlon of 1 sweet clover as a forage crop for stock, j In purls of this country It rtow s lndlgeiiouly very thh kiy on the ground and to a good height. If it can be ntlll.cd as for so for animals It will be a great bem lit In re. Would be pleased to receive sm li Information as yiu can give me In regard to wvet clover, for which I shall feel duly thankful." Sweet clover, as you know, H rc-ogmzod ns a weed throughout the greater part f the Tinted State and sometimes gives conder-nblo conder-nblo trouble In alnfalfa fields the flrt year or two after alfalfa has been fccdcd. Its chemical analysis shows that It has practically practi-cally tho fHino composition os ulfalfa. It lacks In palatablllty. Is course and In harvesting har-vesting sheds Its leave ery much more readily than eles alfalfa. Hay made from sweet clover Is nt Ilrst r fused by live stock, but in time they will rat It fairly well. It is also claimed that in time nnimul. will be come accustomed to It a a grazing plant. Seldom, If ever, do animals tlmw a preferenei; for It over other forage plants. It l Ufrd I most frequently a a. pasture- for hc;i,, and when so ued should be kept frequently mowed to promote a new ;;:-oth of tender f,hoots. Tho crop. If It Is to he mu-il for hay. Should be Cut when not to exceed about eighteen Inch's In height. Tlv re ha been considerable dls ussion of Lite In the agricultural agri-cultural prot-s concerning this plent. S J. Harris, a farmer of Garfield county, Nebraska, Ne-braska, who has had experle-iee with sweet clover, recently replied to some questions concerning the growth of sweet clover, tho answers to which may bo of value, and vhith I am quoting. "How many pound of v-eed doc it take per acio? Is sweet clover a perennial or Is It an annual that seeds yearly? If it Is un iinnual. how late inn It be cut and Ftill re-seed re-seed itself? How many times and at what Mage of maturity should it ho cut for hay? About all I have thus far learned Is that It markes piol hay." "If sweet clover Is to bo used for bay or pasture, twelve to tlfteen pounds of good seed per acre w ill be sufficient. If It Is to be sown for a seed crop not so much seed need be used: one o,uart of good seed per acre ha. given me as high as lift en bushels of s-eed per He-re the second year. Sweet clover w hen sown thinly stools out In all directions. "Where fweet clover Is use d for hay the fnme season it Is sown It should bo cut before be-fore the plants ejult growing and before the Ftcms become tough. The second year it should be cut when it begins to show buds to blossom. Make hay of It the same as With alfalfa, except that the sweet clover nhould b" allowed to cure a little longer before be-fore stacking. If sweet clover Is grown with uny of the hay grains or Is mixed wllh other j hay in stacking stock will eat up the hay so mixed cleaner and with more relish." Our fithers made money by the old methods meth-ods of farming, and why shouldn't we The answer i simple: We are farming Jl.'.O to Jl'MO land with i'jD worth of fertility per acre, and they farmed $Mi land containing SIjO to $jim) worth of fertility. To make the present torn-belt land produce a livelihood for its owner science must be applied to practice. |
