[4] 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.
[5] 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.
Unlike the true clovers and alfalfa, sweet clover seldom causes bloat;
in fact, with the exception of the summer of 1915, only a few authentic
cases of bloat have thus far been recorded in sections where large
acreages are pastured with cattle and sheep. A number of cases of bloat
wore reported in Iowa during the abnormally wet season of 1915. No
satisfactory explanation for this comparative freedom from bloating
has been offered. It is held by some that the coumarin in the plants
prevents bloating, but this has not been established experimentally.
TREATMENT FOR BLOAT.
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