Durant weekly news. (Durant, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 190?-1944, 1916-01-21


of early spring and the constant
freezing and thawing will cause the
seed to find its way into the soil |
This severe treatment has valuable
effect in softening the seed coat and
makes termination more certain.
I'ndel any circumstances sweet clo-
yer should be sown in a firm, COM
pact seed-bed. Perhaps more fail
ures IN obtaining a stand of sweet
clover may be attributed to a too
well prepared seed-bed than TO any
other cause.
The seeds are practically of The
same size and similar in shape to al
folfa, and like alfalfa, may be sown
by hand or with any OF the ordinary
Sc eders. When "own i'm the fall the
seed drill should be followed with
the disk so as to insure the seed i;nn-
ing its way into the moist ground so
as to enhance early termination.
Sweet clover makes an excellent
pasture crop where animals are al
lowed access to it before the plants
have become woody and fibrous. The
bite rtaste that is noticeable thruout
the life of the plant may cause some
livestock to be a little slow in adapt
lis soon overcome and stock come to
like sweet clover and pasture on it
much the same as on alfalfa Sweet
clover will not cause horses to slob-
Der, and, except when fed in too
great quantitie sat the beginning, is
not dangerous to any kind of live
J stock. The ability of the plant to
adapt itself to impervious soils makes
it a valuable pasture on land that
tends to wash or that has frequent
thin spots or patches of hard-pan
Not only will the plant afford plenty
of pasture on land that will not grow
other pasture crops, but it's extern
sive root system and vigorous growth
prevents erosion of the soil and much
waste land can be saved in this way.
| Hogs or cattle can be pastured on
. n alfalfa and its drouth-resisting
qualities adapt it as a pasture crop
+ for the Southwest. The crop will
stand heavy pasturing and it is ad-
tured in order to prevent the plants
from getting large and woody. AS
= a pasture sweet clover has the ad-
vantage over alfalfa in that it will
not cause bloat in cattle and sheep.
AS a hay sweet clover shows near
ly as high feeding value as alfalfa.
The slightly bitter taste, due 30 the
presence of coumarin, is also present
: in the cured plant and stock will not
change readily from alfalfa or other
standard hay crops to hay rlove". At
: ter a few feelings, however, the an
imals take to it readily and it makes
a fairly good hay.
When cut for hay care should be
C2 ercised that the plants are n0' a.
lowed to mature too much before cut
lting. The first year Of the crop
sweet clover should be cut when it
is about knee-high and the plants
! still quite tender. The second year
the crop may be cut just before The
blooms are to appear. 1t is necessary
to carry the sickle-bar four or five
inches high. This makes the hay
more palatable by leaving the coarse,
woody stems and gives the plant a
better opportunity to put forth a new
crop. The plant is rather difficult
> to cure, but it's palatability depends
greatly upon the proper curing,
hence the importance of good cure.
in northern states one 'nrop may
be obtained the first season and two
curtr gs the cond season. In the
southern and southwestern states
1t 10 possible, under favorable c'.:l-
= di'IO!s. to get two cuttings tn ii 81
season ana three cuttings the second
, season The hay may be exD el to
yield from one &c three tons per acre
=. % the citing. Not more than ore
cutting can be expected the first SEA-
son !! me crop is soWn in the spring
This is a strong argument for fall
planting.
AS a bee pasture there is probably
no plant that excels sweet clover.
Many bee growers plant sweet clo-
G yer for the bee pasture alone. The
adaptability of the plant to eroded
n soils and waste patches is another ar
9 gument in favor of bee pasture Small
4 tracts of this nature exist in many
communities where land is high in
c price. Abandoned farms of ten and
& twenty aces located near good mar
= ket may be forced to yield a liveli-
o hood by a combination of bees and
Z sweet clover. This use of poor land
10 n