44 A NEW TYPE OF RED CLOVER. 



A very interesting fact in connection with the 3-year-old plats 

 of the Orel clover, indicating either unusual cold-resisting qualities or 

 a tendency to become perennial, was noted both at Fargo, N. Dak., and 

 at Oakland, Nebr. In both of these cases the new type has the best 

 stand remaining of all the 20 or 21 strains used in the experiment; in 

 fact, at Oakland. No. 16 is the only plat on the field that has a full 

 stand. 



In a report dated June 25, 1906, just received from Mr. Jolm P. 

 Young, he states that with the exception of Russian clover No. 16 all 

 of the plats have but a light sprinkling of plants from the old seed, and 

 he is of the opinion that the majority of these were produced from seed 

 matured in the autumn of the seeding year 1904. On a large portion 

 of the field not more than one or two plants appear on 10 square feet of 

 ground. Returning again to the Orel clover, Mr. Young refers to its 

 upright habit, abundant foliage, soft velvety texture, and the prefer- 

 ence that cattle show for it, and states that "it is the only strain on 

 the whole field that has a full stand from the first seeding." 



This tendency to become perennial, the absence of hairiness, and the 

 other desirable qualities mentioned by Mr. Young continue to distin- 

 guish the new form from the ordinary type of red clover now in use. 



SUMMARY. 



Red clover, on account of its great value as a forage plant and 

 because of its power of renewing and maintaining the fertility of the 

 soil, is one of the most important crop plants of modern agriculture. 



In the course of an extensive experiment with seed from different 

 sources there appeared a variety, hitherto not used in the United 

 States, possessing certain advantageous qualities which make it desir- 

 able to introduce it into American farming. 



The seed of this variety was secured from the " Black Earth" region 

 in the eastern part of the Orel government of Russia. The soil and 

 climate of this section resemble strikingly those of our own north- 

 western prairie country, particularly Nebraska, Minnesota, and the 

 Dakotas. 



This variety is distinguished by the dustlessness of its hay, due to 

 almost complete absence of hairiness from all parts of the plant, by its 

 heavy yields for the first crop, by its leafiness and the persistence of 

 the basal leaves, by the succulence of the stems, which improves 

 greatly the quality of the hay and reduces the waste due to woody, 

 uneatable portions, by greater palatability than hay from domestic 

 seed, and by the fact that it comes to proper maturity for harvesting 

 from ten days to two weeks later than the ordinary American red 

 clover. 



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