Rural School Leaflet 



1205 



1. Redtop is of value in many hay-producing regions in which con- 

 ditions of soil and climate are unfavorable to the growth of other and 

 more valuable grasses. Redtop will grow on low, wet farmlands that 

 have never been drained, and on acid soils. 



2. If Kentucky blue-grass and timothy can be grown, redtop is not 

 desirable. The reasons for this are: (1) it deteriorates 



rapidly after reaching maturity; (2) its yield of forage 

 is not so high as that of timothy, the yield when sown 

 alone seldom exceeding a ton and a half per acre; 

 (3) it is not nearly so palatable as most of the other 

 cultivated grasses; (4) there is little market demand 

 for it, the price obtained for baled hay being con- 

 siderably less when redtop is seen mixed with the 

 timothy. 



White clover. — The clovers have both economic and \X 

 aesthetic value for nature lessons. In preparation for *§| 

 the study of white clover the pupils should be asked 

 to bring to the school specimens of as many kinds of 

 clover as they can find. The quest may result in the 

 following: red, white, alsike, and perhaps one or two 

 of the sweet clovers, which belong to a different genus 

 of the family. The likenesses and differences of the 

 plants will be of interest. 



In the study of white clover the following may be 

 considered : 



1. The creeping stem. 



2. The way in which the leaves reach up to the light. 

 The pale, angular spot on each leaflet. The way in 

 which the leaves close at night. 



3. The many small flowers that make up the 

 clover head; it is most interesting to look at them 

 through a lens. Note the resemblance of the flowers 

 to sweet peas. 



4. The withering of the blossoms after they have 

 been pollinated by bees. 



5. The superiority of clover honey. 



The boys and girls should be taught a few of the reasons why white 

 clover is of economic importance. Among them are: 



1 . It is of value for the seeding of pastures and lawns, because, owing 

 to its habit of lying flat on the ground and sending its roots downward 

 from the many joints, or nodes, and its leaves and blossoms upward, 

 a dense sod is formed. (See illustration, page 1206.) 

 86 



Redtop 



