The Oakes times. [volume] (Oakes, N.D.) 1906-current, 1916-03-09
SWEET CLOVER FOR
PASTURE AND SOILS
BY h. F. Patter,on

PASTURE AND SOILS
BY h. F. Patterson
pate got something started now
sweet clover-wonder what he's going
10 do with the stun, sell It for per-
Eume? Nothing will eat It." So said
ZONE neighbors. Within q few months
these same neiehbors' cattle were
breaking through the fence to get 1t
that sweet clover. It WAS annoying
but Patterson only laughed. He had
1t least convinced the cattle.-The
Editor.
Reprint Dakosa Farmer, Jan. Is, 1916
Ny experience with sweet clover
covers three years Of actual handling
the crop and many years Of observa-
lion among . number Of northwestern
states. Here ! will write only Of my
own experience.
The Soil
Our first crop Of clover was seeded
on Riverside Farm in July Of 1918, on
land that contained large amounts Of
lime and on land that for some years
previously, produced nothing but sun
flowers. Sunhowers were - high rs
the head Of . man on horseback.
This soil is very heavy river bottom
some call It gumbo, and it does differ
but little from the gumbo typo. How
ever in the spring Of the year the land
is Ill mellowed up-a characteristic
Of soil that u rich in lime and excel
lent alfalfa and corn land.
Part Of this land was plowed in the
fall Of 1912 and the balance late in
the spring Of 1913. The packer fol-
lowed the plow IN both instances.
The sweet clover seed was not sown
until July because Of the other work.
I bought . small alfalfa drill-two-
horse, rows 3 inches apart-sowing 8
fest 1t . strip. We planted 10 pounds
Of seed per acre. The seed was
bought in northern Wyoming. The
seed was put in the moist soil, about
Il 10 = inch under the surface. A
good stand came on as did also .
heavy crop Of weeds. The entire field
was moved and allowed to remain on
the field. Later the sweet clover came
on and the field presented . dark
green appearance even late into the
fall.
Pasturing
After the other crops were of that
fall the cattle were turned out and
had the whole farm - . pasture. In
fact We had but few fields fenced 1T
that time and the stock roamed 1T will
as soon ~ we let them out Of the
pasture.
Many Of the neighbors said that
stock would not eat the clover. After
very short time, however, the cattle
remained on the field most Of the time.
In fact we could not keep them off.
One neighbor, when we asked him
what he thought of it now, remarked,
"Oh well, none but Irish cattle would
touch it." Later this neighbor found
different for bought some cows from
. Scotsman down in Nebraska and
these cattle liked the clover even bet
ter than did the Irish stock.
Hay
The spring Of 1914 the clover same
on thick and not week showed itself.
We cut the crop for hay about June
18th and even then the clover was too
large. The mowers were set to cut
high or inches. We did this SO
as to leave some branches on the
stems. Sweet clover is rot like alfalfa
and the red clovers in that the second
and subsequent growths do not come
from the crown, but appear as
branches from the old plants. II
these old plants are cut off below the
branches the plant will die.
Almost as soon as the hay was
down it began raining and kept at it
for some time. The clover was not all
removed in three weeks. The hay was
not valued very highly but the cattle
seemed to do we'll on it last winter
They would leave corn fodder and
bright prairie hay for it.
Concluded on page eight