The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1897-07-06
WEEKLY DIGEST
Of Experiment Station Bulletins.
No. ~.
FORAGE

Bulletin 141, of Michigan Station,
and 81, of South Dakota Station, treat
Of forage crops.
Whe Michigan Station has had a TAR
degree of success with alfalfa, 1t Is not
prepared to say that it will take the
Mace of red clover in that State. 1t
yielded nearly 5 tons Of hay per acre,
at four cuttings in one season. But 1t
requires good land, sufficiently rolling
to drain well. On low, black land IL
winter kills in Michigan. 1t should be
sown in spring, by itself, at the rate OF
90 pounds seed per acre. It land Is
clean, SOW broadcast; If weedy, SOW in
drills and cultivate. If weeds come up,
NOV them before they go to seed, and
unless heavy enough to smother the
alfalfa, leave them on the field.
Kahr CT IN natures Too late to be of
value in Michigan. In the intensely
dry season of 1895, it compared favor
ably with dent corn and sorghum, as
to quantity Of foliage produced, but
was later than either in maturing. The
Michigan season is too short for it.
Beginning in March, '95, a plat each
Of crimson clover and red clover was
soWn each month till November. The
total yield of the crimson clover plats
was a little in excess of that of red
clover. June and July seem to be the
best months for seeding crimson clover
in Michigan.
Two years ago the Michigan Station
received seeds of 2 new varieties of
millet from the U. 8. Minister to Corea.
None of them have proven superior to
old kinds for forage. Most of them an
grown abroad for their seeds, which
are used, mixed with rice, for human
food. One kind yields a seed so rich
In sugar that the natives make syrup
by boiling them.
Sacaline has proven worthless. It
is troublesome to stert and to get rid
Of, hard to handle ard cure, makes a
poor woody forage, and is nc more
productive than corn forage.
The fiat pea is also hard to start, not
very productive, and is not relished by
any sort Of stock.
Hairy Vetch, sometimes called sand
vetch, winter vetch, Russian vetch, or
Siberian vetch, is considered very
promising in Michigan. Sown in the
fall, the plants live over winter and
makea crop the following spring. 1t is
a slender, running plant, often creeping
On the ground a distance of 10 feet
from the stem. For this reason it
should be sown with rye in the fall or
9Th pets iq The ea s9EEinR TO RiEXeAsHhr
SSPE&A6s 30 o. ~ sup
port. They yielded nearly z tons dry
hay per acre at the Michigan Station.
The Ohio Station also gives them e
favorable report, as does the South Da-
kota Station, as will be- seen below.
This vetch is somewhat richer than
clover, and is fine for green manuring
After cutting the joint crop of oats or
rye and vetch, the vetches usually
make a vigorous second growth from
the stubble, affording fine pasturage
or a good coat of green MANURE to turn
under.
A series of Unfavorable clover sea
sons ending with 1895, led many Michi
gan farmers to fear that red clover was
no longer reliable in that State; but
80 brought a very heavy crop. The
root borer has now appeared, but it is
hoped that it's numbers will steadily
decline, as in New York.
The Michigan Station made an in
teresting and instructive experiment
on a field OF clover seeded with rye.
A THU d of the field was cut over and
crop removed just as the rye was head
ing out; another third when the y
was in full bloom, and the last third
after the rye had ripened.
The result was remarkable. Though
favorable weather ensued, the last
third produced as much weeds az
clover, the second third had a thin
stand of clover sprinkled with weedy
patches, while the first third sent up a
thick stand and vigorous growth Of
clover.
OF Is samples of Mammoth clover
seed procured from different sources,
but two proved to be pure, and one of
these, while pure and unmixed, was
not Mammoth clover, but Medium
clover Of rather a dwarf strain. All
produced a good growth, but the bulle-
tin is silent as to their merits as forage
plants.
Another very interesting experiment
was made by the Michigan Station to
test the relative productiveness of pas