198 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



as a fertilizer when plowed under while green, and a great benefit to the farmers of the 

 lower pine regions. The illustration which we give is a very correct representation of the 

 plant, and the best we have seen. 



Bed Clover, (Trifolium jpratehse.) Although not properly included in the family of 

 grasses, red clover is one of the most valuable, economical, and nutritious of forage plants. 

 It belongs to the family Leguminosae, which includes the larger portion of forage plants, 

 commonly called artificial grasses, in distinction from the Gramineae, the true, and usually 

 called natural grasses. The common red clover is the most valuable of all the varieties of 

 clover, and is a native of some portions of Europe, growing in meadows and pastures. It 

 was introduced into England about the year 1633, and has since that time been extensively 

 cultivated in that country, where it forms the staple crop for soiling. We read of the natural 

 grasses having been cultivated in this country some time previous to the year 1750, especially 

 the timothy, although clover was not cultivated to any extent until the early part of the 

 eighteenth century, when, as is the common fate of all new departures under the sun, it 

 met with great prejudice at first, which time alone could overcome. 



The great value of the different clovers, as forage, was well known to the ancients, and 

 were extensively cultivated by the early Romans. Although the nutritive quality of clover 

 is relatively less than that of some of the grasses, yet in the average amount to the acre it is 

 fully equal to that of any other forage crops, produced at the same expense, and, when 

 properly cured, is a most valuable food for milch cows, calves, and sheep. It matures early, 

 is raised cheaply, and is generally, in this country, a sure crop under proper treatment, pro- 

 ducing two crops during the year, and is liable to few casualties or injury by destructive 

 insects. 



Although the common red clover, (Trifolium pratense,) is a biennial plant, and conse 

 quently two years growth is all that should be expected of one seeding, yet Mr. J. S. Gould 

 states, in his extended and valuable treatise on Forage Crops, that there is a variety of it, 

 (Trifolium pratense perenne,) that is truly perennial, though he never saw a whole field of this 

 variety; that it is, however, frequently met with in permanent pastures, on soils naturally 

 adapted to the growth of clover. It may be distinguished, in general, at a glance, by its deeper 

 bluish-green color, the greater narrowness of the leaves, its more straggling growth, and the 

 greater number, greater length, and greater stiffness of its hairs. The root of this variety differs 

 considerably from the biennial kind; being somewhat creeping and very fibrous; whereas the 

 perennial has an almost fusiform root. (Fusiform, spindle-shaped, as in the radish, having 

 comparatively few fibers.) Yet, after all, these characters are sometimes interchangeable. He 

 has seen undoubted perennial clover with a light green color, and very sparsely furnished 

 with hairs, and has occasionally found equally undoubted biennial clover that was of a very 

 dark color and quite abnormally hairy. In doubtful cases, the root is the best test. 



The color of the flower varies very much in the species and in the variety; in general, 

 the perennial has much the deepest red, but both kinds are met with, in which the color of 

 the flower is of a pale pink, and rarely of a pure white. The heads of the perennial are gener 

 ally less crowded with flowers, the flower stalks more slender, and with a greater tendency 

 to curve. When young, the flower head presents a much more woolly appearance than the 

 biennial. 



In the present condition of our seed markets, he thinks that the seeds of this variety 

 could not be obtained with any certainty; but when farmers become well acquainted with 

 the distinction between them, an imperative demand for reliable seeds will arise, which will 

 then be met by seedsmen. Mr. Sinclair says that this variety is found in the greatest abund 

 ance in Lincolnshire, and recommends that the seeds should be first selected from thence, and 

 then be cultivated until the demand is fully supplied. It flourishes better on clayey or peaty 

 soils than the common red clover, or Trifolium pratense proper. 



