THE MERITS OF BUR CLOVER 175 



and of less value, on the whole, though it has the merit 

 of reseeding itself, once established. I approve of bur 

 clover, as it is a nutritious, soil-enriching legume, and ad- 

 vise southern farmers to make effort to establish it along 

 roadsides and in pastures, which it would beautify and 

 enrich. It seems to like a soil rich in lime, and to need 

 inoculation. 



There is a new bur clover, Medicago obiculata, that 

 makes a most astonishingly vigorous growth in California, 

 affording of dry forage as much as 4 or more tons to 

 the acre, and leaving when raked away many bushels 

 of seed on the earth. This clover is said to be some- 

 what tender, but it should thrive in southern Texas and 

 the Gulf States. In California this bur clover would af- 

 ford 20 times the amount of summer feed that is now 

 had from native wild growth, and is well worth test- 

 ing. It may need to have stock kept off it till it has 

 nearly matured, in which case one could have a fenced 

 pasture of Medicago obiculata and another pasture of 

 native wild oats and smaller bur clover. Seed of all 

 these bur clovers is obtained by removing the vines and 

 sweeping the seed from the dry ground with wire brooms. 

 None of them is of any use in the northern states, but 

 all have their uses in the South and should be taught 

 to grow in pasture and as catch-crops. One of the first 

 men to call attention to the value of bur clover was Dr. 

 Tait Butler, then of North Carolina, now editor of the 

 "Southern Farm Gazette," from which valuable southern 

 farm journal I quote : 



"The chief use of bur clover is as a clover crop during the win- 

 ter and spring, to gather nitrogen for soil improvement, and as an 



