232 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



yellow blossoms, finer stems, is much more decumbent in habits of growth, 

 and only yields from one-half to two-thirds as much as the white biennial. 

 Seed of the white biennial is oftentimes adulterated with seed of the yellow 

 biennial. This adulteration may be distinguished by the dark purplish 

 green mottling and oftentimes purplish green spots on the seed of the yellow 

 biennial. The yellow annual is a small erect growing plant, producing seed 

 the first season and should not be sown in this State because of the very 

 small growth secured. The seed of the yellow annual is much smaller than 

 that of the other sweet clovers. 



Seed of the white annual or ' ^Hughes Sweet clover' ' (trade name Hubam 

 Clover), is now being distributed over the State and shows promise of be- 

 coming a valuable crop. 



LIME 



Satisfactory yields are very seldom secured on acid soils. Even though 

 the stand may be fair at first the plants will be stunted in growth and but 

 a small amount of hay or pasturage secured. When the soil is in this con- 

 dition it usually requires from one to two tons of ground limestone or from 

 two to three cubic yards of marl to secure good results. 

 • 



INOCULATION. 



Since inoculation enables the plant to make use of atmospheric nitrogen 

 it is very important to inoculate on soils low in organic matter and nitrogen. 

 There are several different methods of inoculation. The pure culture and 

 soil methods are the simplest and easiest to apply. Pure culture may be 

 secured from the Department of Bacteriology, Michigan Agricultural Col- 

 lege, East Lansing, Mich. The price is twenty-five cents per bottle and one 

 bottle is sufficient for a bushel of seed. Directions for application accom- 

 pany the bottle. 



When it is not possible to secure the pure culture, very good results are 

 usually obtained by the soil method. Dissolve one and one half ounces of 

 carpenter glue in a quart of water and sprinkle over the seed which has been 

 spread out on a smooth floor. Stir the seed and then scatter over the seed 

 about a quart of soil that has been recently obtained from a sweet clover 

 or alfalfa field where the roots have an abundance of nodules. Inoculation 

 may also be made by broadcasting from two hundred to three hundred 

 pounds of surface soil taken to a depth of three inches from a well inoculated 

 field of sweet clover or alfalfa. The soil should be applied on a cloudy day 

 or in the evening and immediately harrowed in. 



SEEDING. 



A greater growth and more lasting stand is usually secured hy seeding in 

 the early spring on a well compacted seed bed. Loose seed beds are responsible 

 for many failures. Sweet clover may be seeded in the early spring on fall 

 sown rye or wheat, or seeded with barley or oats. Only three-fourths of 

 the usual amount of oats or barley should be sown when used as a nurse crop. 

 From 12 to 15 pounds of scarified sweet clover seed per acre is usually suf- 

 ficient to give a good stand. Scarification is important because the seed 

 coat of the sweet clover seed is quite impervious to water and retards germi- 

 nation. From 16 to 18 pounds of unscarified seed or from 22 to 24 pounds 

 of unhulled seed is usually sufficient to secure a stand. 



