DECEMBEli 15. 1P15 



M-PMESSUEE GAEDEMNG 



SWFICT CI,OVER — SOMF/l'HlNG AUTHORITATIVE 

 BECAUSK IT COilES FROM THE DEPART- 

 MENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



In the Weekhf Netvs Letter from the 

 Departmoiit of AgiiouUiire for Sept. 15 we 

 find an article on sweet clover, which, even 

 though it be lengthy, answers so many 

 ci.uostions that keep coming- we have decided 

 to give it entire; and I would advise our 

 readers who are interested in experimenting 

 with sAveet clover to keep it handy where 

 tliey can refer to it. Evei^y statement made 

 is in accordance with our own experience. 



SWEET C/.OVLR; common IX MANY PARTS OF THE 

 COVNTRA ; GAINING IN yAYOR AS A CULTIVATliD 

 CKOP. 



Sweet clover, which is so common alone; roadsides 

 and in waste places in many parts of llie country, 

 is rapiily gainin? in favor as a cultivated crop. 

 Tliis is due to its value for soil improvi;ment, for 

 pastures, and for hay. There are three species of 

 Kwcet clover commonly found in the United Slates. 

 The biennipl yellow-flowered species {Mclilolus offi- 

 cinalis) and (he biennial white-flowered species 

 (Mililotus alba) are valuable over a wide area, 

 while the annual yellow-flowered species (Melilotvx 

 iiulica) is of little economic importance except in 

 the extreme South and Southwest, where it is grown 

 as a winter-cover and °:reen-manure crop. With the 

 exceptions of a few localities, white sweet clover is 

 grovn almost entirely. This is due to the fact that 

 it yield" more forajrn and produces larger roots than 

 the other species. The white-flowered species is or- 

 dinarily referred to a.s sw.^et clover, while the other 

 iwo species are called yellow sweet clover. 



Sweet clover resembles alfolfa when youn;;, but 

 can be distinguished from it by its bitter taste, its 

 smooth shiny leaves, nnd later, when in bloom, by 

 tiie Ion?, loose spike-liVe arrangement of white flow- 

 ers in contract to the <Io^c purple clusters of alfalfa 

 Powers. One of the n osl notable features of sweet 

 clover is its root .system. Durin<r the first season of 

 JTi'Owth the roots often reach a diameter of one-haif 

 inch at the crown of the plant. On account of the 

 fleshy character of the roofs, a large (juantity of 

 vopjtable mailer is added to the soil, even when tlie 

 tops of the plants are removed for hay. 



USES OF SWEET CLOVER. 



There are few ]>1anfs whifh will put waste land 

 <.r run-down farms into condition for producing; 

 crops as fjuickly I's sweet clo\er. Its value for this 

 purfose is recognized in Alabama and Mississippi. 

 and also in parts of Kentucky and Ohio. On a< • 

 ;'ount of tb.e root development of this plant, large 

 i|unntities of vt:);<;table matter are added to the soil 

 when a field of fcweet clover is plowed. The root 

 '\stem nlone has l.'oen estimated io \f about CO tons 

 of ^ecn weight per acre for a -.rood growth of sweet 

 < lover. In some parts of the country it has been 

 used in a small way as a green-manure crop, tlie 

 .second year's growth being plowed under. By turn- 

 ing under a crop of sweet clover, or only the stub- 

 ble, marked gains are obtained in the following "^rop. 



Swcei clover is a very lood winter-co\er crop in 

 th?t it prevents the soils from gullying and washin-.r. 

 Tl al'O takeb up large oiiantities of available fertili- 

 zers which would probably leadi out of ihe soil dur- 

 ing the winter. On account of the large taproots 

 of sweet-clover plants, potassium and phosphorus 

 inay be taken up in the subsoil and deposited, at 



least in pavt, in Ihc surf.'ice soil when the roots 

 decay. 



Since sweet clover is a biennial, like red clover, 

 it is readily aduptcil to similar rotations. Sweet 

 clover will undoubtedly prove to be a valuable crop 

 as n, substitute for red clover in the ordinary farm 

 rotations where red clover will no longer grow. It 

 iuay be seeded in the spring on grain as red clover 

 is sovn. Wlun seeded in this manner some pas- 

 turage will be produced that fall in the North and 

 pasturage or a hay crop in the South. The follow- 

 ing season it produces two crops in the North and 

 three crops in the South. It may be handled iiv a 

 manner similar to red clover. 



Sweet-clover hay is rapidly coming into favor as 

 a feed for all classes of live stock, especially in 

 places where more desirable types of hay will not 

 grew successfully. Ordinarily some trouble is ex- 

 perienced in getting stock to eat sAs'eet elo'^er at first, 

 on account of its bitter taste; but after they have 

 been accustomed to eating it no trouble is experi- 

 enced. A high percentage of digestible protein is 

 contained in the hay. 



Sweet clover makes excellent pasturage for horses, 

 sheep, cattle, and hogs. Probably the easiest way 

 to create an appetite for this plant is to commeni>e 

 pasturing stock on it very early in the spring of the 

 second year, before other gieen feed has started. 

 A sufficient number of animals should be kept in a 

 sweet-clover pasfuie to keep it grazed rather closely. 

 This will prevent the stems from becoming large and 

 woody, and will also induce an abundant growth of 

 young shoots. Stock when pastured upon sweet 

 clover makes gains which compare very favorably 

 with those obtained from either alfalfa or red clover. 



There is very little danger of bloating when stock 

 are pastured on sweet clover, but it is safest to 

 avoid turning the stock into a sweet-clover pasture 

 when it is wet with dew or rain, or when stock are 

 u.iusually hungry. .Sweet clover will also thrive 

 well during midsummer drouth and produce much 

 i^arly and late pasturage. 



SOIL RKQUIREMENTS. 



Sweet clover ha^. the ability to thrive on poor c]:iv 

 soils as well as on poor sandy soils, but it will make 

 I better growth on fertile soil. It prefers soils cf 

 limestone origin. Clay soils which are acid should 

 be limed before sweet clover is sown. Sweet clover 

 's also very resistant to alkali, and plauts may be 

 found in the We^t growing on soils so alkaline that 

 little else than salt giass is able to survive. 



The primary requisite for obtaining a stand of 

 sweet cdover is to have a firm, thoroughly compacted 

 seed-bed with just enough loose soil on top to enable 

 tile seed to be covered. The lack of a firm seed-bed is 

 probaHy the chief rea.son why sweet clover so of; en 

 fails when seeded under cultivation. However, if 

 it is seeded with spring-sown grain the seed-bed 

 should be rolled after seedin?. Better res\ilts are 

 usually obtained v.-here sweet clover is seeded alone 

 in the late winter or sjiring on ground which has 

 been plowed and thoroughlv worked the previo^i.-; 

 la II 



SEEDING. 



The time for noA'ing s«cet clover varies considir- 

 ably in different sections of the United States. In 

 the eastern part, in the latitude of Washington, D. 

 C, a good stand may be obtained by seeding either 

 early in the spring or about August 15. One dis- 

 advantage with early fall seeding is that the plants 

 mature and die 'h" following vear and only a small 

 growth of roots is obtained. If seeded in spring in 

 a nurse crop sweet clever will develop an extensive 

 root system the first year and produce a small 



