70 CLOVER CULTURE. 



crop, should circumstances seem to justify it, then he can use 

 to advantage in the North, both the red and the mammoth; 

 and, if his lands are unusually moist, the alsike. If he wishes 

 to lay down his lands in permanent pasture, not to be broken 

 up for an indefinite number of years, he can use all these and 

 the white clover in addition. If he is located in sections 

 where the above varieties are not reliable, and he wishes a 

 permanent clover meadow, or a crop for summer soiling, his 

 main reliance must be alfalfa, provided always that he has a 

 soil that is not immediately underlaid with impervious clay, 

 gumbo, hardpan or rock. If he has land under irrigation 

 there is no forage plant that will take the place of alfalfa as a 

 permanent meadow. If he resides in the mountain or Pacific 

 coast states and cannot irrigate^ his land, he must use the 

 annuals native to that region ; 'if in the extreme Southern 

 states, his main reliance must be on the Japan, and if in the 

 Border states, where the winters are sufficiently mild, he can 

 use to great advantage the crimson. Bearing in mind the 

 uses and fitness of each variety, every farmer must make a 

 selection for himself. 



The object in view in growing clovers having been clear- 

 ly determined and a judicious selection made after a thorough 

 study of the resources of the country and of the particular 

 farm, the next practical question is the determination of the 

 mixture to be used, either of the clovers by themselves, or in 

 connection with other grasses. Much harm has been done 

 by the recommendation by seedsmen and some agricultural 

 papers, of grass mixtures selected on purely theoretical 

 grounds, and without reference to the wants of either the sec- 

 tion of the country or the individual farmer. Many of the 

 mixtures seem to have been taken from English works, and 

 are frequently made up of grasses which-have generally failed 

 wherever tried in the Western states, and where they have 

 succeeded, have proved inferior to the grasses and clovers in 

 common use that have been demonstrated, after years of ex- 

 perience, to be extremely valuable. All mixtures that contain 

 English rye grass, Italian rye grass, sheep's fescue, crested 

 dog's tail and such like grasses, should be rejected, as there 

 are few sections in the West in which these grasses will stand 

 either the extreme cold of winter or the extreme heat of sum- 

 mer. The recommendation 'to sow orchard grass, red top or 

 meadow fescue should be well considered before purchasing 

 the seed. These three latter grasses are valuable in their 

 place, but only in certain locations and under certain condi- 



