400 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



late one bushel of seed. Directions for applying this material accom- 

 pany the bottle. 



The soil method of inoculation consists in dissolving one and one- 

 half ounces of carpenter's glue iu a quart of warm water and sprinkling 

 it over a bushel of seed, which has been spread out on a smooth floor. 

 Stir the seed and then sprinkle over the seed about a quart of very fine 

 soil that has been recently obtained from a sweet clover or alfalfa field 

 where the roots were heavily loaded with nodules. 



Scarification. 



A high percentage of sweet clover seed have a seed coat that is quite 

 impervious to moisture and when the seed is sown during the spring or 

 summer, will prohibit its germination that season. When the seed is 

 sown during the late fall the freezing and thawing action of the soil 

 moisture during the winter tends to break the seed coat and germina- 

 tion takes place during the early spring. Unscarified seed usually gives 

 better results when sown during the late fall than does scarified seed. 

 Scarified seed is much to be preferred for spring seedings. The Ames 

 scarifier is the most efficient method of scarification. 



Seeding. 



A greater growth and a more lasting stand is usually secured by 

 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 wheat or rye or with barley or oats. A 

 better seeding is often secured by sowing only a bushel of barley or oats 

 when used as a companion crop. 



From twelve to fifteen pounds of scarified sweet clover seed per acre 

 is usually sufficient to give a good stand. Ten pounds of high quality 

 scarified seed is sufficient under favorable conditions. From sixteen to 

 eighteen pounds of unscarified seed or from twenty to twenty-five pounds 

 of unhulled seed is usually sufficient to secure a stand. 



On fertile soils, sweet clover when seeded at the same time as oats, 

 sometimes makes such a large growth that the curing of the grain is 

 made difficult. On this type of soil it is advisable to seed the sweet 

 clover two weeks later than the oats. 



Harvesting for Hay. 



The stage of growth at which sweet clover is cut determines very 

 largely the quality of hay secured. Sweet clover should be cut just be- 

 fore the blossom buds appear. If allowed to come into bloom, the stems 

 become woody, the leaves fall off and a very poor quality of hay results. 

 The height of cutting is very important. The second year sweet 

 clover does not propagate from a crown as does alfalfa, but propagates 

 from buds in the axils of the branches and leaves on the lower portion 

 of the stalk. If the first cutting of the second year is made below the 

 young branches, which bear the heaves, the stand will be destroyed and 

 the second crop will not be secured, . 



