Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1916-06-01
HARVEST YOUR OWN
CRIMSON CLOVER
NICHOLAS sCHMITz.
Maryland Agricultural Experiment
Station.

The supply Of crimson clover seed
for this fall will be limited rs we'll
as high priced Every farmer will do
well, therefore, to seriously consider
saving at least enough crimson clover
seed for his own seeding II not for
commercial purposes
There are a good many drawbacks to
saving crimson clover seed for com
mercial purposes. the principal one
Of which Is the tendency OF the plants
to shatter their seed az soon as ripe.
This makes It necessary to cut the
clover In just the right stage, which
is usually when the last maturing
seeds In the tip Of the head have
reached the soft. dough stage. This
stage is usually reached in week OF
10 days after the first blossoms have
begun to fade. There are several
methods OF harvesting the crop; the
most successful is with the self rake
reaper, which deposits the newly cut
stems with heads all turned one way
in small punches at the side Of the
reaper out OF the way OF the horses on
the succeeding round. These small
punches are sometimes placed or
3 together In small piles to cure but
usually they are left as dropped until
the huller comes. when they are loaded
one at a time with large tined barley
fork on a tight bottom hay rack and
hauled 10 The hniler
a gucceaeful Method.
Another method is to cut with the
moving machine with punching at
tschment fastened to the cutter bar
II an attachment Of this kind IL not
available then the clover may be har
vested quito successfully II q little
more care il used ~ cutting AZ the
proper stage. Since the horses and
mower viii pass over the cut clover i
Is necessary 10 cut e before II vii
shatter readily II Il becomes too ripe
II nust be cut early In the morning
while II IS still damp from the dew,
or IN the evening after dew begins 10
fall Some farmers cut after night
until stopped BY heavy dews When
cutting after dark IL b necessary TO
attach q lantern on the end Of the
tongue and one on the back of the
machine When cut this way The
clover should be raked aud punched
while damp 10 Prevent SCATTERING and
then handled the same az II cut with
4 self rake reaper
Harvesting Small Quantities.
Whore 1 smeil quantity e. harvested
small canRs may be attached 10
the cutter bar. thu TWO rear CORNERS ~
which are held by a man walking be.
hind The cutter bar is set high
enough 70 cut the stems just below the
heads The heads are dropped in piles
and placed under clover or hauied AZ
rect 10 the huler
The seed ~ generally halted with a
special huiief. which g. equipped with
two cylinders. one FOR shatterlng the
huiia OF the head and the other for
rubbing the hulls ~ the seed Where
Il q desired 70 rave only enough seed
Tor home consumption and bulier Is
not available the seed may he s0wn
with the hulls on. care being taken
Thar sui0ciens quantity Is scattered
over the land ta secure good stand
The only way thie can be determined
81 to weigh quantity u the huiis
then bull ont the seed and weigh
again In this way 81 can b. deimm
ined JUST how many pounds Of hulls
are required % furnish ~ or II pounds
Of seed per acre. which 81 ueaaily tie
rate o. seeding.