: Sweet Clover: Utilization by Coe H S - Sweet clover

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ducted an interesting pasturing experiment with spring pigs in 1910, In this experiment, pigs weighing approximately 38 pounds each were pastured for a period of 141 days on two plats of red clover, a plat of Dwarf Essex rape, and a plat of yellow biennial sweet clover. The pigs pasturing on each plat received a ration of ear corn. The ration given to the pigs on one plat of red clover and on that of rape was supplemented with meat meal to the extent of one-tenth of the ear corn ration. The feed given to the pigs pasturing on sweet clover was supplemented with meat meal at the same rate during only the last 57 days of the test. The red clover was seeded in 1908 and reseeded in 1909, so that the plat contained a very good stand of plants at least one year old. The sweet clover was seeded in the spring of 1910, while the rape was sown on April 4, 1910, in 24-inch rows. The pigs were turned on the forage plats on June 22.

The results of this experiment, as presented in Table I, show that sweet clover carried more pigs to the acre and produced cheaper gains and a greater net profit per acre than either red clover or rape. To judge from the date of seeding of the plants tested, it was to be expected that the pigs pasturing on the sweet clover would not gain as rapidly at first as those pasturing on the other forage plants, as the growth of the sweet clover at this time was undoubtedly much less than that of the other crops. This assumption is borne out by the results given for the first 84 days of the test. During this period the pigs on the rape made a net gain of .55 per acre and those on the red clover .86 per acre more than those on the sweet clover. In these computations corn was valued at 50 cents per bushel and hogs at per hundredweight. During the latter part of the experiment there was but a scant growth of red clover on the plats, while the sweet clover produced an abundance of forage, and during this period of the experiment the pigs pasturing on sweet clover made a net gain of .14 per acre more than those pasturing on red clover and .41 per acre more than those pasturing on rape. The difference in net profits probably would have been greater had white sweet clover been used instead of yellow sweet clover, as it makes a larger growth and contains approximately the same ratio of food elements.

Corn valued at 50 cents per bushel, meat meal at .50 per hundredweight.

Hogs valued at per hundredweight.

During the first 84 days of the test, practically two-thirds of the time, a limited ration of corn was given, while during the last 57 days the pigs received a full feed.

The pigs pasturing on sweet clover received meat meal only during the last 57 days of the experiment.

An experiment reported by the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station shows that a mixture of rape and sweet clover makes an exceptionally fine pasture for hogs. In this experiment the mixture of rape and sweet clover produced more pasturage than alfalfa and was preferred to alfalfa by the hogs. It was seeded at the rate of 6 pounds of Dwarf Essex rape and 10 pounds of sweet clover to the acre.

Sheep relish sweet clover and make rapid gains when pastured on it. Care must be taken to see that pastures are not overstocked with sheep, as they are likely to eat the plants so close to the ground as to kill them. This is especially true the first year, before the plants have formed crown buds. Yellow biennial sweet clover probably would not suffer from this cause as much as the white species, because the plants make a more prostrate growth and are not likely to be eaten so closely to the ground.

Horses and mules do well on sweet-clover pastures. On account of the high protein content sweet clover provides excellent pasturage for young stock. No cases of slobbering have been noted with horses.

TAINTING MILK AND BUTTER.

Milk may be tainted occasionally when cows are pasturing on sweet clover. However, the large majority of farmers who pasture sweet clover on an extensive scale report very little or no trouble. The flavor imparted to milk at times is not disliked by all people, as some state that it is agreeable and does not harm the market value of dairy products in the least. This trouble is experienced for the most part in the early spring. The tainting of milk may be avoided by taking the cows off the pasture two hours before milking and keeping them off until after milking the following morning.

BLOATING.

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