| Samples. | Constituents (per cent). | |||||
| Moisture. | Ash. | Ether extract. | Protein. | Crude fiber. | Nitrogen-free extract. | |
| Leaves. | 8.70 | 10.92 | 3.09 | 28.20 | 9.28 | 39.78 |
| Stems. | 8.70 | 8.08 | .70 | 10.16 | 39.45 | 33.06 |
The hay collected for the above analyses represented the first cutting the second season. The plants had made a 30 to 36 inch growth at the time of cutting. It will be seen that the protein content of the leaves is almost three times as great as that of the stems.
In the drier sections of the country or when the first crop of the year of seeding is cut for hay in the North-Central States the mower may be started in the morning as soon as the dew is off. The hay should remain in the swath until the following day, or until it is well wilted, when it should be raked into small windrows. After remaining in the windrows for a day it may be placed in small cocks to cure. Cocks made from hay which has dried to this stage will not shed water well and therefore should be covered if it is likely to rain. It is important that the cocks be made small enough to be thrown on the rack entire, as many leaves will be lost if it is necessary to tear them apart.
Fig. 8.—Sweat clover curing in the cock.
When sweet clover is permitted to dry in the swath, a large percentage of the leaves will be lost in windrowing and loading unless handled with the utmost care. Hay in this condition should never be raked while perfectly dry and brittle, but should be raked into the windrow in the early morning or in the evening, when it is slightly damp from dew. It may then be hauled to the barn or stack after remaining in the windrow for a day.
One of the most successful methods for handling sweet-clover hay, especially in regions where rains are likely to occur at haying time, is to permit the plants to remain in the swath until they are well wilted or just before the leaves begin to cure. The hay should then be raked into windrows and cocked at once ([fig. 8]). The cocks should be made as high and as narrow as possible, as this will permit better ventilation. In curing, the cocks will shrink from one-third to one-half of their original size. It may take from 10 days to 2 weeks to cure sweet clover by this method, but when well cured all the leaves will be intact and the hay will have an excellent color and aroma. When sweet clover is cocked at this time the leaves will cure flat and in such a manner that the cocks will readily shed water during heavy rains ([fig. 9]).
Fig. 9.—A cock of sweet-clover hay which has cured
in excellent condition and retained all of its leaves.