TRIFOLIUM INCARNATUM. 351 



green fodder to the acre upon rich ^prairie soil. The flower is 

 excellent during most of the season, and the cattle eat it with 

 avidity, except during the months of July and a portion of Au- 

 gust. Almost the sole objection urged to white clover is its ef- 

 fect on horses during the maturing of the seed." It makes them 

 "slobber." 



Its dwarf character makes it unfit for the scythe. 



If the soil is suitable it spreads so rapidly that very little seed 

 is necessarv. 



White clover is a fickle plant, coming and going with the va- 

 rying seasons. It often burns out in hot weather. An old hard 

 road, once abandoned, is likely to send up white clover in ad- 

 vance of the grasses. 



It is a well known and highly prized bee plant, although the 

 season is often a short one, especially if hot, dry weather comes 

 on early. 



White clover is often sown with some of the finer grasses for 

 lawns. 



Trifolium incarnatum, L. Crimson or Italian Clover, 

 French Clover. A soft, erect, hairy annual 1-2 ft. high. Sti- 

 pules broad, with short, broad leafy tips ; leaflets broad, obovate, 

 or nearly round. Heads 1-2 in., oblong or cylindrical. Flowers 

 -J in. Calyx soft, hairy, teeth narrow, nearly equal. Petals 

 bright crimson or scarlet or a pale cream color. Found in south- 

 ern Europe, and cultivated in France, Germany, Belgium. 



When in flower this is a beautiful plant. As it is an annual 

 belonging to a warm climate, it does not seem so popular at the 

 North as red clover. 



One writer, a farmer in Virginia, speaks highly of crimson clo- 

 ver to sow in autumn alone, or with Italian rye-grass, for cutting 

 the next May. He says it is very productive, and is an excellent 

 clover for one crop, or rather for one mowing, which should be 

 taken early, as it becomes coarse and woody if allowed to mature. 



