CLOVER CULTURE. 15 



tions of the country which enjoy an abundant rainfall in the 

 months of June and July. It is therefore in the semi-ar;d re- 

 gions the best of all substitutes for other clovers. 



The great value of alfalfa lies in its adaptability to the 

 arid lands of the mountains and the plains and the lands that 

 have a winter rainfall and summer drouth as on the Pacific 

 Coast. It is possible under these circumstances to cut three, 

 four and even five crops in a single year, irrigation furnish- 

 ing the moisture and the dryness of the atmosphere making- 

 the curing the crop entirely practicable. This will be more 

 fully explained when we come to discuss the proper method 

 of handling this crop. 



Much has been said in recent years, and particularly by 

 the Eastern press, of the value of crimson clover, trifolium 

 incarnatum. This, unlike those previously mentioned, is an 

 annual clover, the seed being sown in July or August and [ 

 maturing early in the spring. It is therefore peculiarly adap- 

 ted to the soils along the latitude of 40 degrees and south, 

 and should not be attempted on the soils of the corn belt of 

 the Northern states. Utterly valueless as it is in these soils, 

 it is of very great value in its peculiar climate, as it can be 

 sown in mid-summer, and removed in the spring in time for 

 another crop. Its value as a forage plant is much inferior to 

 any of the other clovers, and it is therefore adapted only for 

 local cultivation in soils and climates specially suitable to itsi, 

 growth. 



