The Bulletin. 



35 



Sweet Cloyer. 



Sweet clover (Melilotus alba) is another plant that will soon be 

 knocking at the doors of the North Carolina farmers for recognition. 

 It is classed among the best soil improvers and also as a large yielder 

 of hay, which if cut at the proper time makes hay of higher feeding 

 value than red clover, though it is not liked as well by stock until they 

 become accustomed to eating it. It grows best in limestone soils, but 

 will thrive in almost any soil that is well drained and not too acid. It 



Fig. 21.— Roots of melilotus (sweet clover) showing nodules. 

 U. S. Bulletin No. 485. 



will make a good growth in soils too poor for either alfalfa or red 

 clover. 



This plant is a native of Asia and came to us from Europe 150 or 

 more years ago. But it is in recent years that its value has been recog- 

 nized. In Kentucky it grows along the right of railways to a height of 

 8 or 10 feet. It also flourishes in the limestone sections of Mississippi, 

 Alabama and in other states. Numerous correspondents of Wallace 

 Farmer, of De Moines, Iowa, speak in high terms of it as a hay plant 

 and for pasturage. However, on account of its bitter taste stock donot 

 take readily to it until they have become accustomed to it. Then, it is 



