20 CLOVER CULTURE. 



narrow blades of the rye give the young clover plant plenty of 

 air and sunshine. There are few soils and few seasons in any 

 country, in which clover growing is practicable, in which a 

 fine stand of clover can not be obtained by sowing on rye 

 in March, and then pasturing off the crop with sheep, hogs 

 or cattle. . The' best success is obtained by pasturing with the 

 two former, and, if cattle are used, the lighter they are the bet- 

 ter. Some little damage will be done the clover by tramping 

 with heavy cattle, especially in wet weather, but we have found 

 by experience that the advantages in securing the more per- 

 fect covering of the seed by treading are much greater than 

 the disadvantages. Clover sometimes fails of a stand when 

 sown on winter wheat, for the reason that a crust is likely to 

 form on the top, especially if the month of March be dry, and 

 the ground deficient in moisture and the seeds therefore do 

 not become sufficiently imbedded. This may be remedied to 

 a very great extent by harrowing the ground after the clover 

 has been sown. In this way sufficient covering can be se- 

 cured and the benefits to the wheat will far more than com- 

 pensate for the labor. Success would be all the more certain 

 if in a dry time a heavy roller were used, thus compressing 

 the soil around the roots of the wheat as well as the seeds of 

 the clover. It requires, however, a good deal of sound judg- 

 ment and discretion to use the roller in a country subject to 

 high winds. 



When sown with spring grain, the problem is much more 

 difficult. The season is necessarily later and care must be 

 taken at all hazards to bury the clover deep enough to secure 

 moisture, and not too deep to exclude light. Just how deep 

 clover should be covered is a problem that can be determined 

 only by the farmer himself. Everything depends upon the 

 season and upon the nature of the soil. The lighter the soil 

 and the drier the season the deeper must the seed be covered. 

 Untold damage has been done to the clover interests of the 

 Western states by the publication in works that are regarded 

 as standard authority, and copied into the agricultural news- 

 papers, of the depths at which clover germinates best and re- 

 fuses to germinate. Prof. Flint in his work on Grasses and 

 Forage Plants, quoting from a treatise on grass by the Messrs. 

 Lawson, the noted seedsmen of Edinburgh, states that the red 

 clover germinates best at a depth of from nothing to one-half 

 inch; that half the seeds germinate from one and one-quarter 

 to one and one-half, and that none of the seeds germinate 

 when covered to the depth of two inches. This is no doubt 



