480 EUROPEAN AGRICULTURE. 



is advised not to repeat it again under three years. Some 

 English farmers object to its recurring even so often as this. 

 The effect of plaster of Paris or gypsum sown upon it, either 

 when the dew is upon it or. the air is humid, is as remarkable as 

 in the United States, though beyond a certain amount it is of no 

 avail. The efficiency or mode of operation of this extraordinary 

 agent seems, as yet, wholly unexplained. The French farmers 

 understand perfectly well the advantages of ploughing-in a 

 clover stubble as a preparation for grain of almost any kind j for 

 lands which are not very rich, it is considered only as an aid, 

 and not as a principal manure. 



The small white clover, otherwise called the Dutch clover, 

 constitutes an important element in the rich meadows and pas 

 tures of Holland. Clover is cultivated for its seed, in which case, 

 the first crop is taken for forage, and the second for the seed. 

 An eminent farmer speaks of his neighbors having refused to buy 

 his clover-seed because his crop was small and thin j but. accord 

 ing to his own experiments with this seed, it was preferable to 

 seed from a crop of more luxuriant growth. The probability is, 

 that it was more mature. 



Another species of clover, cultivated to a considerable extent, 

 is the trifolium incarnatum, or scarlet clover, of which I have 

 spoken in another place. This appears with a deep red flower, 

 of a conical form and of extraordinary beauty. It endures for 

 one year only. 



