210 THE AMERICAN FARMER. 



this country. Several years ago some attempts were made to introduce it here, but were not 

 attended with such success as to commend it to agriculturists generally. In England it is culti 

 vated by sowing either broadcast or in drills. If broadcast, usually eighteen or twenty 

 pounds are required per acre; if in drills, from eight to twelve inches apart, twelve or fifteen 

 pounds per acre is sufficient. It is usually sown on improved stubble-land as soon as a grain 

 crop is removed, and harrowed just enough to slightly cover the seed with fresh earth. It 

 grows rapidly in the spring, and is much valued for food for young lambs, and later in the 

 season for horses and cattle. It can be cut for hay on the first of June, thus leaving the land 

 clear for wheat. It is not equal to the common red clover, either in quantity and quality of 

 hay, or as a fertilizer. 



Zigzag Clover, (Trifolium medium. ) This plant is often called by farmers, in some 

 localities, &quot;cow grass.&quot; The peculiar bending of the stem from the left hand to the right 

 has given it the name of zigzag clover. It much resembles the common red clover, and 

 would easily be mistaken for it, though the head is less globular and more oblong, and the 

 blossoms of a deeper purple in color and less compact in the head. The leaves are of a 

 darker green, and without the light spot seen in the common red clover. The roots are 

 creeping, and it is always found growing in patches; often on very dry banks and on the 

 top of old stone- walls, and it always excludes all other plants when once it has taken good 

 root. It will flourish in long droughts, and is especially adapted to dry, sandy soils. It is 

 sometimes found on cold, clayey soils, where it grows much smaller and darker in color. The 

 stems are also more woody. It is a pest to the farmer, being almost worthless, as horses, 

 cattle, and sheep will not eat it unless compelled to from hunger. Farmers are therefore 

 warned against it, and advised to destroy it on the farm, as far as practicable. 



Buffalo Clover, (Trifolium replexum.) This is a species of clover growing wild on the 

 prairies and meadows of the Western and Southern States. It has large, handsome heads of 

 a rose-red color, and grows luxuriantly. It is thought by many to be worthy the attention of 

 agriculturists, as a cultivated forage-plant. 



Hare s Foot Clover, (Trifolium arvense.) This variety of clover is often called 

 rabbit-foot, stone clover, pussy clover, etc. ; it is found on gravelly banks and old fields, and 

 is of little value, in an agricultural point of view. The heads are cylindrical in form, long, 

 very soft and downy, and seem like a mass of whitish silky hairs. It grows from five to 

 twelve inches high, and flowers in July and August. 



Hop, Or Yellow Clover, (Trifolium procumbens.) This is a small species of clover 

 growing usually on dry, sandy, and rocky soil. It has flowers, which at first are a bright 

 yellow, then fade to a light buff color, and finally take a dark brown when dry. It is called 

 &quot;hop clover&quot; from the fact that its heads, when in blossom, resemble in form small bunches 

 of hops. The seeds ripen toward the latter part of July, when the blossoms look dry and 

 withered, presenting a striking and unpleasant contrast to plants in full verdure. Cattle and 

 sheep will eat it, though it is not considered of much value as a forage-plant. As it is an 

 annual, farmers can easily eradicate it, if desired, by close mowing before the seed is allowed 

 to ripen. 



Bokhara Clover, (Melilotus luencantha,) is valuable for soiling or mowing, and affords 

 excellent food for bees throughout its season. 



Alfalfa, Lucerne, (Medicago sativa.) There are many varieties of this species of 

 Medicago, but this is the only one that has been cultivated in this country to any extent. 

 Though generally known by the name of Lucerne, the more modern name, Alfalfa^ comes 

 from South America, where, according to best authority, it grows wild in the utmost luxuri 

 ance on the pampas of Buenos Ayres; it is, however, slightly modified in the United States 



