346 FIELD CROPS 



The rootborer usuall}^ does not seriously affect the stand 

 until the latter part of the second year, when the I'oots are 

 large enough to harbor the larvae, or grubs. They then 

 enter the roots and bore through the upper portions, greatly 

 weakening the plants. The best remedy is to plow the 

 land soon after the crop of hay is removed the second year, 

 thus destrojdng the food of the grubs. The clover-leaf 

 weevil sometimes destroys the leaves of the plant in the 

 early spring; but, as new growth is soon produced, it does 

 little serious damage. The clover-flower midge does no 

 harm to the hay crop; but, as the eggs are laid in the heads 

 and the grubs develop there, they feed on the young seed and 

 prevent the production of a seed crop. Their ravages are 

 checked if the first crop of hay is cut quite early, for the 

 larvae will then have no opportunity to develop, and 

 the second crop will be beyond the possibility of damage by 

 the time the second brood appears. 



A parasitic pest known as dodder is sometimes quite 

 troublesome in clover fields. This plant begins growth about 

 the same time as the young clover plants, and the stem 

 soon attaches itself to the stems and leaves of the clover, 

 coiling tightly around them. The ground stem of the dodder 

 then dies away and the plant lives on the clover. The best 

 preventive measure is to examine the clover seed carefully 

 to make certain that it is free from the seeds of dodder. If 

 it gets into the field, the entire growth of clover which con- 

 tains dodder should be cut away close to the ground and 

 burned. Great care should be taken that no pieces of dodder 

 are left or dropped, as they will at once start into new growth. 



WHITE CLOVER 



458. White Clover is one of our commonest plants, ap- 

 pearing in pastures, lawns, roadsides, and other places which 

 are left unbroken for two or three years. It is a shallow- 

 rooted plant with a creeping habit of growth, It does not 



