Clover 



677 



Digestible Nutrients and Fertilizer Constituents in 100 



Pounds of Hay 



The above figures are averages and it must not be forgotten that 

 there maj be wide divergences from these. It has been shown 

 that the fertility of the soil has much to do with the chemical 

 composition, more nitrogen-free extract having been found, for 

 instance, in clover raised on land heavily fertilized with potash. 

 The time when the hay is cut also has an effect; red clover has 

 been shown to contain most crude protein before bloom and least 

 after bloom. 



BIOLOGICAL relations 



The relations of the clovers to their environment, that is, the 

 soil and climate, vary somewhat with the species. Crimson clover 

 is an annual and will not endure extreme cold or extreme heat. 

 It is a plant that thrives in the cool weather of late summer and 

 fall and early spring, hence it should never be seeded in spring, 

 as it will promptly go to seed on the advent of warm weather; 

 also, it can be successfully grown only where the winters are not 

 too severe. In New York State, therefore, it is used but little, 

 although it is planted as a cover crop in orchards and vineyards to 

 a limited extent. 



Red and alsike clovers are perennials, hut the former is com- 

 monly treated as a biennial. Under otherwise favorable con- 

 ditions they endure the winter well and are not seriously affected 

 by the heat of a northern summer. They prefer relatively cool 

 weather, however, and in the northern parts of Maine red clover 

 thrives even on soils that would be considered unfavorable further 

 south. x\lthough both red and alsike clover will grow on a variety 

 of soils, they must be well drained for red clover, while alsike is 



