WHITE SWEET CLOVER. 113 



The whole plant has a characteristic fragrance hence the name 

 Sweet Clover especially noticeable when in bloom and when the 

 stems and leaves are cured into hay. 



Geographical distribution: Sweet Clover is a native of the 

 Old World where it occurs practically all over the temperate zone. 

 It was probably introduced into America with the early settlers and 

 is now spread all over the continent. It is common everywhere in 

 Canada, especially in the eastern provinces. 



Cultural conditions : Sweet Clover is generally found in waste 

 places, along roads and railways, on river banks and in cultivated 

 fields. It grows readily on almost any soil and w r ill do well where 

 practically nothing else will flourish. This ability to thrive almost 

 anywhere, combined with its faculty of reseeding itself abundantly, 

 is apt to give it the character of a troublesome weed where it is not 

 desired. It does well in almost any climate and will live under very 

 adverse conditions. 



Agricultural value: When Sweet Clover is young it is succu- 

 lent, but as soon as it flowers the stems get woody and lose their 

 palatability. Its peculiar flavour is distasteful to stock, which will 

 eat it only when nothing else is available. Milk and butter obtained 

 from cows fed on green Sweet Clover have a peculiar taste disliked 

 by most people. Furthermore, as the yield of hay is not high, Sweet 

 Clover makes a poor forage plant. Its chief value is to enrich the 

 soil and to improve its mechanical condition. Like other leguminous 

 plants, the tubercles on its roots are filled with nitrogen-collecting 

 bacteria. There seems to be conclusive evidence that these bacteria 

 are identical with those of Alfalfa. At any rate, they act in exactly 

 the same way and can therefore be used for the inoculation of Alfalfa 

 fields. Six to eight pounds of seed are sufficient for an acre. 



Seed: Sweet Clover seeds are common in commercial samples 

 of Red Clover and "Alfalfa and are sometimes found in Alsike. They 

 are dull yellow and very like those of Trefoil, from which they may 

 be distinguished by their larger size and a V-shaped light mark 

 running from the scar. 



There is no seed more prolific than that of ocimum; it is generally recommended to sow it with 

 the utterance of curses and imprecations, the result being that it grows all the better for it; the earth 

 too, is rammed down when it is sown, and prayers offered that the seed may never come up. Pliny, 

 Natural History, 23-79. 



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