108 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. 
is for pasture, either alone or as bottom grass in mixtures. It is 
remarkably well suited for the latter purpose. It covers the ground 
quickly, providing a pasture of high nutritive value, relished by all 
kinds of stock. It stands tramping well and close grazing, instead 
of being harmful, stimulates it to a stronger growth. If the moisture 
is sufficient, it gives good pasture from spring to late summer. On 
account of being perennial, it is especially suited for permanent 
pastures and lawns. Six to eight pounds of seed will cover an acre. 
Seed: In reasonably moist seasons the production of White 
Clover for seed is quite a profitable business, as the price is higher 
than that of other clover seeds. In case of prolonged drought the 
crop is light. The average yield is four or five bushels per acre. 
When grown for seed, it is generally grazed down during the 
spring; sometimes it is cut for hay early in the season to encourage 
the production of heads. As the plants continue to blossom for a 
long time, the ripening is somewhat uneven. ‘The seed crop should 
be cut when most of the heads have turned a dark brown and should 
be handled with the greatest care. 
Quality of seed: The seed of White Clover is yellowish red in 
general appearance ; any sample consists of a mixture of red and 
yellow seeds. It is generally assumed that good seed is bright yellow 
and that the red seeds are old and of a low germination. Tests made 
with yellow and red seeds picked out of commercial samples have 
shown, however, that there is no essential difference in the germin- 
ation, provided the latter are plump and otherwise normally devel- 
oped. The legal weight is sixty pounds per bushel. 
ALSIKE CLOVER (Trifolium hybridum L.) 
Plate 20; Seed, Plate 27, Fig. 32. 
Botanical description: Alsike Clover.is perennial with erect 
or generally ascending stems which do not root at the base as do 
those of White Clover. They usually reach a height of one or two 
feet and branch in their upper parts. The whole plant is hairless 
and for this reason is brighter in colour than is Red Clover. The 
leaflets are shorter and comparatively broader. The flower heads 
have much longer stalks than those of Red Clover and in this way 
