PEA FAMILY 



"What is the lily, and all of the rest 

 Of the flowers to a man with a heart in his breast, 

 That was dipped brimmin' full of the honey and dew, 

 Of the sweet clover blossoms his babyhood knew?" 



As a crop to plough under Red Clover is valuable at 

 the north because of its deep root system and its power 

 of fixing the nitrogen of the air through the bacteria in 

 the nodules borne by the roots. 



ALSIKE CLOVER 



Trifolium hybridum 

 Perennial. Becoming common. Fields and roadsides. 



Stems. — Erect or ascending, not rooting at the nodes. 



Leaves. — Long-petioled, compound, of three leaflets; 

 leaflets short-stalked, obovate, narrowed at the base, 

 slightly serrate. 



Flowers. — In heads, pink and white, reflexed with age. 



Calyx. — Persistent, five-cleft. 



Corolla. — Papilionaceous, tubular, the petals having 

 grown together. 



Stamens. — Ten; nine with filaments united, one more 

 or less separate. 



Pistil. — One, producing a two to four-seeded pod. 

 Pollinated by bees. Nectar-bearing. 



The Alsike Clover is comparatively a recent arrival; 

 its origin is shown by its name; it is a hybrid; Alsike 

 is the name of a parish in Sweden, and the clover is 

 often called Swedish Clover. Its stem system is a 

 delicate form of that of the Red Clover; its flower- 

 heads resemble those of the White Clover. The plant 

 was introduced as a field crop and in moist, cool soils is 



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