Inter-Planted Crops 141 



used as a winter cover-crop in orchards more extensively 

 than elsewhere in the United States, though it is also used 

 for soil-improvement purposes quite extensively in the 

 South. Fall seeding, using 15 to 20 pounds of hulled seed 

 to the acre, is the practice. If in the hull, 3 to 6 bushels 

 are necessary. It may be so handled after the plant becomes 

 established that it will reseed itself. 



Button clover, like bur clover, is an annual. It is adapted 

 to all the Gulf Coast region extending northward to about 

 the center of Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, nearly all of 

 Louisiana, and the southwestern part of Texas; also to 

 southwestern Arizona, southern California, and a narrow 

 belt extending along the entire Pacific Coast to northern 

 Washington. The directions for seeding are the same as 

 for bur clover. Button clover is decumbent in habit of 

 growth, hence is sometimes seeded with one of the small 

 grains. 



Japan clover or Lespedeza is an annual plant w^hich in its 

 range of adaptability extends from the extreme South 

 northward to the latitude of southern Pennsylvania and 

 northern INIissouri and westward to central Texas and western 

 Oklahoma. Its greatest usefulness in this area is for pas- 

 turage, though it is cut for hay in some localities. It has 

 not been much used in orchards, being less valuable, prob- 

 ably, than other available legumes. It will reseed itself 

 if properly handled. Fifteen or 20 pounds of seed are used 

 in the first sowing. Seeding if used for orchard purposes 

 should be done in the fall. 



Bitter clover {Melilotns indica) is used as a winter cover- 

 and green-manure crop in orchards in California where in 

 the southern part of the state in particular it appears to 

 be very satisfactory for this purpose, especially in the citrus 



