C^G Grasses and Leguminous Crops in New York 



northeastern states, at least half have been introduced from 

 Europe and have become naturalized in our fields and along our 

 roadsides. Among these are the four species of economic impor- 

 tance in the United States — red clover (TrifoJium pratense), 

 scarlet or crimson clover {T. incamatum), alsike or Swedish 

 clover (T. hyhridum), and white clover {T. re pens). 



AGRICULTURAL HISTORY 



The clovers were not cultivated by the ancients, so far as known, 

 first coming into prominence in Europe during the late Middle 

 Ages. Red clover was carried from Flanders to England in 1645 

 and was doubtless brought to America by early settlers, though 

 there is no record of the fact. Jared Eliot wrote that it was grown 

 in Massachusetts in 1747. The same writer says that white clover 

 was conunon in Massachusetts at that time and it soon spread, 

 so that in 1794 Strickland wrote that it was found " in every part 

 of America — from IN'ew Hampshire to Carolina, from the sea to 

 the mountains." * 



Alsike and crimson clover have not been known so long in the 

 United States, but are known to have been cultivated in Europe 

 since the middle of the eighteenth century. Alsike clover is said 

 to be a native of Sweden and to take its name from a place of that 

 name. The United States Patent Office distributed seeds in 1854, 

 but this is probably not the earliest introduction. Crimson clover 

 is a native of Southern Europe, but is now grown from Italy to 

 Germanv, and also in England. The earliest record for the 

 United States is 1818, " but its culture did not assume much 

 importance till about 1880."* Today alsike clover is grown more 

 or less throughout the northern states and to some extent west of 

 the Rocky Mountains. It is of little importance in the South, 

 where crimson clover has rapidly become the most important mem- 

 ber of the genus. 



CHEMICAL COMPOSITION 



In common with all legumes, the clovers are especially rich in 

 proteins and hence make a valuable feed. The table below, com- 

 piled from Heniy and Morrison's Feeds and Feeding,-]- shows how 

 clover hay compares with timothy. 



'Piper, C. V. — Forage Plants and Their Culture, p. 412. 



t Henry and Morrison. — Feeds and Feeding, 15th edition, p. 660. 



