the root, and in the Medium Red clover they found $24.56 value in fertility. Of course the whole acre was not sent, but a square yard was dug up, root and top, and sent to the Experiment Station, and that was the result they found.

If we had our manurial charts here, they would show us that there are about $8.00 worth of fertility in a ton of clover hay and that it is worth three-quarters of that in manure after it has been fed to the animal. We believe that a ton of clover hay, at present prices, is worth about $7.00 or $7.50, and that we could get two tons of clover hay per acre and that would give us in feeding value about $15.00, and then if we add three-quarters of that for the fertilizing value, perhaps $10.00 or $12.00 more, there would still be one-third of that crop under the ground that we would not harvest at all, which would remain in the soil and fertilize it, thus keeping the humus in the soil, which is a very important element, and alto gether a good crop of clover is worth to the farmer from $30.00 to $40.00 an

acre.

Its Feeding Value.

We know it is a very valuable feeding crop, because it contains so much of the element of protein, which is the element in feeding crops which costs the most, and the clover plant contains largely of it, much more than timothy or the other grasses, and so we believe that the clover plant and the clover crop to the Wisconsin farmer is a very importaut

crop.

How to Grow Clover.

There has been considerable complaint about the failure to get a clover catch, because in the summer season after the grain crop has been cut off it has been found that the young clover plants dry up and there is more failure in that way than there

is in the winter killing, which in former years used to be about the only way that we lost the catch. But we think that with live stock and the farmer handling his manures as he should, applying them on all the portions of the farm and keeping it in good cultivation, and the soil well supplied with humus, that we will avoid the summer killing of the young clover plant. Farmers in the southwestern counties of Wisconsin, some of those which have grown corn continuously, exhausting the humus from the soil by continuous cultivation, have found out that they cannot grow clover any more and they want to know if their land is clover sick. I believe that is what causes clover sickness, lack of humus in the soil.

Clover as a Gatherer of Moisture, Humus and Nitrogen.

I want to refer again to an experiment conducted by Mr. George T. Powell, a fruit grower, not in this state, who used clover for a cover plant in an orchard. Nothing was removed from the orchard but fruit, no other crop was removed. His orchard was kept in good cultivation until about the first or the middle of July and then it was sown with red clover, which remained on the ground through the winter until the next spring, when it was chopped up and cultivated into the soil and the cultivation continued again until midsummer. This was repeated for three years; a section of that soil was dug up, six inches in depth, it was weighed to see how much moisture it contained, then it was dried for the same purpose and a section of the soil in an adjoining field, the same kind of soil, but on which crops had been removed and no clover had been grown, and they were compared, and this was the result; that on an acre of the orchard soil six inches in depth there was found to be 46 tons

But, you will ask, where does it get the excess of phosphoric acid and potash? It gets it by sending its roots way down below these six inches in depth, bringing it up to the surface and putting it into the clover tops and the roots nearer the surface. We are told there is plenty of the mineral fertilizing elements deep down and the clover plant with its long tap root brings it up.

We had last year in one of our Institutes a red clover plant that measured four and one-half feet in length, and on the lower small roots there were a great many little nodules, which contained, we are told, the bacteria of the nitrogen.

Seeding the Clover Crop.

The best

crop

to

seed with a clover crop we believe is winter rye, winter wheat comes next and spring wheat next, or spring rye is very good to sow clover with, then after that we take spring wheat and then what we call "succotash," which we are using on our farm quite a good deal; then comes barley, which is probably the poorest crop with which to seed. On our farm we think it is a calamity to be without the clover crop, so for that reason we have kept wheat on our farm when sometimes otherwise it was not a profitable crop, because we are more sure of getting a clover catch with that than with oats or some of the rapidly growing crops. Our neighbor, Mr. Scribner, uses spring rye and has found that a good crop to seed with. ripens early, has less foliage

Turn in

We would not pasture young clover in the fall, unless it was going to seed; we would not put sheep or horses on it in any case. the cows and let them eat off the tops. We want the grain crop to leave considerable stubble, cut it pretty high so as to leave plenty of stubble for winter protection. There is great protection in a good stubble field. It keeps the snow from melting and helps a good deal to shade the crown, so that it won't freeze and thaw, which is so injurious to the young clover in the spring.

The clover crop is the best the first year and we would never undertake to keep it over two years, for that reason we do not advocate sowing very much timothy with the clover, unless to make a pasture of it. We do not sow any timothy with our clover, having a permanent pasture for the stock to run on. medium red hay making and for pasture as well, sometimes pasturing the second crop.

and

alsike

We like mixed for

The alsike mixed with the red makes a finer quality of hay.

Making Clover Hay.

-1:י

one, when we got very little clover in without being damaged somewhat by the rain, hay caps were found very useful things to have on the farm.

The poorest of all ways of making clover hay is to cut it down and let it lie until it is cured, then rake it up with a hay loader, breaking off the leaves and the valuable portions and so putting a lot of sticks and stalks into the barn, the feeding value of which is probably very low.

DISCUSSION.

A Member-What kind of cloth would you prefer for hay caps?

Mr. Hill-The subject of alfalfa is coming on later and hay caps will be talked about then.

A Member-After this hay is bunched up green, if there comes on a rain, would you immediately shake it out or leave it in the bunch?

Mr. Hill-As soon as the weather clears, if it is wet in a good ways, should want to get it out and get it dry, but if it is not wet in more than six or eight inches on the top, and the weather comes clear and a good stiff breeze, it will dry all right. If it is wet clear through, then it must be spread out and do with it the best

we can.

more

The Chairman-You said that the first crop is the most valuable. Do you mean the first cutting is valuable than the second cutting? Mr. Hill—No, I mean the first year. The Cirman-We always think that the second crop of clover is very fine, especially for young stock, calves and other young animals. The first crop usually grows up rather coarse and rank.

Mr. Sears I heard a gentleman say that the first crop was worth about $30.00 an acre, not making any mention of the second crop. In Calumet county we have raised as high as six bushels to the acre of seed out of the second crop.

The Chairman-We might have Mr. Hill's experience in raising clover seed in our particular locality.

Mr. Hill-We have not had but one crop of seed for many years. For some reason the blossoms do not come out good and it does not produce seed, we do not use it for that purpose.

Mr. Sears-Don't you think it would be better to run over the new seeding and clip it and let it lie as a mulch on the ground?

Mr. Hill-I think it would be, if you can get your mower high enough so as not to mow too close.

Mr. Sears-In our county we always make it a practice to cut the first crop especially early, not later than about the 10th of June. We get better hay and almost as much an:1 we are always sure of a seed crop and the seed crop is worth more then the hay crop.

A Member-In

bunching up

this

hay, do you put it in large, medium or small bunches?

Mr. Hill-That depends on what you mean by large and small. We usually put about two rakings into a heap. We would not have that heap over three feet wide at the bottom and we would run it up as high as we call have it stand, packing it down a little, and we build the heaps, not by rolling together, but by placing one forkful on another. You may say that is a good deal of work to make hay. Well, you can make hay easier, but you cannot make it any better in anv other way.

A Member-I see Mr. Hill and Mr. Scribner put barley as the last thing with which to seed. In Sheboygan county that is the best crop we have to seed with.

Mr. Scribner-I think barley will go ahead of the oat crop for seeding and it comes off early, but we have had splendid success with the spring rye crop. We thought we would