262 Practical Farming 



Burr Clover from the burr-like nature of the seeds, is an 

 annual plant belonging to the same family 

 of legumes as alfalfa. It has been found valuable as a 

 soil improver in the South, but is not perfectly hardy 

 northward and hence, as it must be sown in the fall, it is 

 not adapted to northern conditions. It has little value as 

 a forage plant, but as a nitrogen fixing plant it is not 

 excelled by any of the legume family. It has another ad- 

 vantage in the fact that its burr-Uke seeds carry with them 

 the bacteria for the inoculation of the soil, and as this 

 form of bacterium is the same as that which lives on 

 alfalfa the burr clover forms a ready means for the inocula- 

 tion of the soil for alfalfa. 



No plant in the legume family has attracted 

 more attention of late years than Alfalfa, 

 which is sometimes called Lucerne. Botanically it is Medi- 

 cago sativa, and is a perennial plant sending down long tap 

 roots into the soil and hence demands a permeable subsoil. 

 It is useless to endeavor to grow alfalfa on a poor soil, 

 or one that is in an acid condition and not well drained. 

 A mellow, clayey loam either naturally or artificially well 

 drained suits the crop. While alfalfa, like other legumes 

 can get nitrogen from the air, it is always an advantage to 

 give it some nitrogenous manure or fertihzer at the start. 

 For this purpose there is nothing better than good stable 

 manure. But, Hke all the legumes, its chief requirements 

 are for phosphoric acid and potash, and if good and 

 repeated crops are expected, the soil must be kept replen- 

 ished with these, for in the taking off of crop after crop of 

 hay, as is done with alfalfa, the mineral elements in the 

 soil are very rapidly removed. 



