all classes of livestock. The first crop of the second season may be 

 cut with a grain binder for ensilage and the second crop harvested 

 for seed. If not cut until in full bloom, a yield of from 10 to 12 

 tons per acre sometimes results, although usually the plants are killed 

 by such treatment. 9 Hulbert 7 states that the cases of livestock poi- 

 soning from sweetclover hay, reported from Canada, Colorado, 

 Minnesota, and the Dakotas, were due to the use of moldy hay or 

 silage, but were not attributable to any inherent poisonous property 

 of the plants. Experiments in feeding moldy hay to calves at the 

 North Dakota Experiment Station resulted fatally within 40 days. 

 Relatively few authentic cases of bloat caused by white sweetclover 

 have been reported. 9 



This species of sweetclover is outstanding as a soil improver. It 

 not only makes good growth in soils deficient in humus, but its exten- 

 sive, large, and succulent taproots penetrate deeply beyond the nor- 

 mal plow line, break up the subsoil, and thus facilitate aeration and 

 drainage. In addition, after the death of the plants, the rapid decay 

 of the roots, together with stubble plowed under as green manure, 

 add much nitrogenous matter to the soil. Numerous experiments 

 conclusively prove that production increases result from either 2- 

 pr 3-year rotations with white sweetclover. In this respect, at least, 

 it is superior to both alfalfa and the lupines. Being a biennial, it 

 is especially well adapted to short rotations. 



The utilization of this species as a honey plant dates from remote 

 antiquity. American beekeepers have long recognized its value as a 

 honey plant ; in fact, its early distribution and use were based largely 

 on its nectar content. Maximum production occurs in the hot, dry 

 climate of the plains region where yields as high as 200 pounds 

 of commercial honey per colony are obtained. In the West, the 

 mixed nectar obtained from clover; and alfalfa plants produces a 

 high-grade honey. Both observations and experiments in North 

 Dakota 11 demonstrate that honeybees increase the yield of sweet- 

 clover seed over 100 percent. 



Among the common causes of failure in growing white sweetclover 

 are: Acid soil, a high percentage of hard seeds, improper prepara- 

 tion of the seedbed (it should be firm, with a thin cover of loose 

 soil), and lack of inoculation. Soil inoculation is necessary unless 

 alfalfa, one of the sweetclovers, or other nitrogen-fixing crop has 

 previously been produced on that tract. Inoculation is accomplished 

 either by the transfer o,f soil from a sweetclover field or by treating 

 the seed with pure cultures of bacteria. Growing white sweetclover 

 with a nurse crop is advisable on weedy land or where there is suffi- 

 cient moisture for two crops but, in the dry-farming regions of the 

 West, it is preferable to grow white sweetclover alone. 6 7 On irri- 

 gated land, this sweetclover is usually seeded with oats, barley, or 

 wheat as a nurse crop. 10 



For brief generic notes on Melilotus, see W124. 



T 9 10 g ee footnotes on preceding pages. 

 11 Shepperd, J. H. SWEET CLOVER : EXPERIMENTS IN PASTURING. N. Dak. Agr. Ji.xpt. 

 Sta. Bull. 211, [57] pp., illus. 1927. 



