EXCELLENCES OF HAIRLESS CLOVER. 13 



importance in sections where corn is the chief crop. At the time 

 when a farmer is compelled to put up his clover hay grown from the 

 ordinary strains of seed it is, as a rule, of the highest importance 

 that he be concentrating all of his energies on tlie cultivation of his 

 cornfields. The corn is rapidly approaching a stage when it becomes 

 difhcult or impracticable to cultivate longer. Ina])ility to give the 

 crop the necessary care at this time may mean liundreds of dollars 

 of loss in a single year. 



DISADVANTAGE OF LATENESS OF MATURING UNDER SOME 



CONDITIONS. 



There is one drawl^ack in the lateness of maturing of the Orel 

 strain of clover, namely, that it militates against the production of 

 a heavy second crop. However, in southern Indiana, in a typical 

 part of the clover section, the Kief and Orel strains gave in the 

 order mentioned the best yields of seed after recleaning. This is a 

 point that will receive further investigation to determine as accu- 

 rately as possible by a study of their limiting conditions the regions 

 in which the new variety can be profitably grown. 



HEAVY YIELD OF FIRST CROP AND ACCRUING ADVANTAGES. 



The heavy yield of the first cutting of the hairless clover should 

 prove indirectly advantageous in wheat-growing sections, espe- 

 cially in the winter-wheat belt, when it is desired to hasten the 

 rotation back to wheat, as the increased product from this cutting 

 would, where feed production was not a paramount necessity, in a 

 measure justify the immediate or early plowing up of the field pre- 

 paratory to reseeding to wheat. On account of the dense shade 

 which this strain gives to the soil by virtue of its heavy growth, the 

 field is left in unusually fine physical condition for plowing up after 

 the removal of the first crop. A rotation practice of this kind might 

 also prove valuable by postponing for several years the clover sick- 

 ness from which all soils seem destined to suffer sooner or later. In 

 the Dakotas and some other parts of the Northwest where fall plow- 

 ing is necessary this method may be especially useful on account of 

 the fact that as freezing up occurs so soon after the maturing of the 

 second crop it is likely to be too late to prepare the land in the 

 autumn for spring seeding. 



OTHER POINTS OF EXCELLENCE OF HAIRLESS CLOVER. 



In addition to the advantage of the smooth clover already men- 

 tioned — its exceptionally large yielding power for the fh-st crop — 

 the fine quality and dustlessness of its hay also command attention. 

 In reference to its yielding qualities it will be seen later on that under 

 comparable conditions in a number of different States it has out- 

 yielded from a few hundred pounds to almost two tons all of the 



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