THE CLOVERS 



231 



Red Clover: Effect of Bacteria 



forming bacteria upon which their growth largely 

 depends are unable to develop in such a soil. Conse- 

 quently it is often 

 necessary to add Hme 

 in order to get Clover 

 to grow, and very often 

 it is desirable to inocu- 

 late the soil with the 

 nodule-forming bac- 

 teria. 



Enemies 



Where Clover i s 

 utilized as a part of a 

 plan of crop rotation 

 that involves plowing 



it under after one season's crop has been removed 

 it is comparatively Httle injured by insect pests. 

 When it is grown longer, however, such enemies are 

 more likely to multiply and prove destructive. Two 

 of these pests attack the roots : the Clover-root 

 Borer and the Clover-root Curculio. As adults 

 both are small beetles that lay eggs on leaves or crowns 

 of clover in spring, the eggs soon hatching into small 

 larvae that feed upon the roots. When either proves 

 troublesome the adoption of a system of short crop 

 rotation is desirable. 



The Clover-leaf Beetle is another insect which has 

 sometimes been troublesome in clover fields. The 

 brownish snout beetle, about half an inch long, feeds 

 upon the leaves and deposits eggs upon the stems. The 

 larvae that hatch from the eggs feed upon the leaves for 



