The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1913-12-19
FEEDING COWS IN WINTER sN
SWEET CLOVER As A CROP
FORMERLY CONSIDERED A PEST,
ITISNoW MUCH CULTIVATED.
BY C. 3. Hutchinson, Professor Of
Agronomy, College Of Agrieul-
ture, University Of Missouri.

The sweet clovers are among the
Oldest known plants, but 1t has been
only within comparatively recent
years that they have come into any
great prominence as cultivated crops.
A great deal of interest is being man.
Tested in this crop by Missouri farm.
ers, and while some still consider II
a pest, others are apparently obtain
ing good results with II.
The two most important species ar"
white sweet clover. frequently re-
ferred to simply as sweet clover or as
Bokhara clover, and yellow sweet
clover Both species are biennial, pro
ducing tall. erect, branching plants
with coarse, woody stems when ma
ture, and rather sparsely supplied
with leaves. The whiteblossomc
species Is the larger and more yigor-
Gus growing Of the two, making a
growth Of from five to twelve feet
during the second year, while the ye'.
lowblossomed kind Is more decumb.
ent and spreading, reaching a height
OF three to five feet. The white-blos.
somed kind is usually preferred both
for hay and green manuring.
Sweet clover grows in ali parts of
the United States and on soils Of yari-
Gus kinds. In Missouri 1t grows wild
in waste places and apparently is no.
able to compete with other plants un.
Foynrnb g,plftipng Inag
not spread into fields or pastures. II
may be sown on most any kind of
soil, but since II grows so well on thin
lands it Is most commonly sown there.
the better lands being retained for
other crops.
The fact that sweet clover grows so
we'll in heavy clay soils along the
roadsides indicates that II should be
seeded on well-compacted seeded,
and this Is borne out by the expert.
ence of those who have grown 1t. It
may be sown in the spring, either
alone or with n nurse crop, much like
red clover, or in late summer or early
fall like alfalfa Care should be taken
TO have the seeded well.compacted
and to avoid seeding on freshly
plowed land. If sown In the fall the
land should be plowed early in July
and worked down in good shape by
subsequent disking and narrowing and
seeded the latter part of August.
Both hulled and unhulled seed are
on the market II usually requires 20
to % pounds OF hulled seed and at
! least five pounds more OF unhulled
seed an acre. A less amount Of seed
would be sufficient were IL not for
| the fact that often one-haii OF tho
seed, or more, has such hard seed
coats that 1t does not terminate the
first season, and hence Is practically
useless. Two crops of hay, or a hay
and seed crop. may usually be OBJ
tanned the second season.
The chief value of sweet clover for
Missouri conditions is as a green ma
nuring crop. Being legume, 1t has
the power of gathering nitrogen out
of the air and storing 1t in the soil by
means Of the bacteria which live upon
its roots. Since 1t makes such a heavy
growth and does we'll on thin lands, II
makes a good crop TO turn under t.
improve the soil.
The value of sweet clover as a pas
ture or hay crop is much disputed
Some farmers regard 1t as practically
worthless and consider 1t a weed
while others have had good success!
with feeding 1t. Its foliage has n bit
ter taste, due to the cumarin II con
tains. Its stems have q tendency I,
become woody as they mature. II no
allowed to become too rank before
pasturng, or II cut for hay before TIKI
first bloom buds appear, these two oh
jectionable factors may be eliminated
to considerable extent, and yer,
good feed obtained from sweet clover
1t has been found, too, that live stool
will learn to eat 1t.
Since II is a biennial, sweet Glove
may take the place of red clover II
the rotation on those lands where tn,
latter does not thrive we'll, but on tn
best lands It cannot compete will
either red clover or alfalfa for hay.
The fact that the bacteria on II
roots are capable Of inoculating a
falfa has led to the idea that 1t is
valuable crop to occupy the land In
mediately before seeding alfalfa. Thi
may be done, but usually lands tina
have never grown sweet clover nee
incubation for 1t rs we'll as for a
falfa. 1t has been found necessary (
inoculate the soil on the experiment
station field at the University Of MI!
souri,, Columbia, for sweet clover, an
even with this precaution conside
able difficulty has been experience
in getting a stand. 1t Is evident, thei
that It is frequently more difficult
obtain a good stand than one migf
expect from a general survey OF th
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