FORAGE CROPS 109 



from this clover in a season. This crop can be used for hay 

 or for seed. Alsike clover does not die out after producing 

 seed like the other clovers, but continues to live for several 

 years. It is a perennial. It is a good clover to sow with tim- 

 othy, as both plants blossom together and so are ready to cut 

 at the same time. Alsike and timothy are good to sow to- 

 gether on wet lands and on muck lands. It takes about six 

 pounds of seed to sow an acre. The seed is sown in the 

 spring. 



Other Clovers. — Bur clover and Japan clover are not real 

 clovers. They are grown in the southern states and are there 

 quite useful, but they have no place on the farms in the 

 north. Bokhara clover or sweet clover is considered a weed 

 in most places, but some attempts have been made to use it 

 for hay, especially in the South. It grows in waste places and 

 along roadsides. It has white blossoms and gives off a pleas- 

 ant odor when wilting. It is a good fertilizer for the ground. 

 There is also a yellow variety of sweet clover. 



Alfalfa. — Alfalfa is not a clover, but is closely related to 

 the clovers. It is a legume and, like all the clovers and other 

 legumes, gathers nitrogen to enrich the soil. Alfalfa originated 

 in Western Asia. It is rather a new crop for the states east 

 of the Mississippi River, but has been grown for many years 

 in the dry western states. It seems to do better in irrigated 

 regions than elsewhere. Alfalfa grows best on well-drained 

 sandy soils, but has been grown successfully on every kind of 

 soil except wet. The seed may be sown in spring, summer, 

 or autumn. Best results have been obtained in Ohio and 

 Indiana from sowing the seed in summer or early autumn on 

 land that was plowed in the spring and kept free from weeds 

 by harrowing. The amount of seed sown is about twelve to 



