Ch. XXIV.] ON CLOVERS. - 2«3 



ages ; so that it frequently springs up, as it were, naturally, if they be turned 

 up, or if rough lime be allowed to lie for any great length of time upon the 

 land. It is a perennial plant, and lies so close to the ground that it has 

 also acquired the name of " cree])ing clover ;" but the great luxuriance of 

 its growth, its nutritive quality, and the sweetness of its flavour, render it 

 the most valuable of our natural grasses, and, when cultivated, it is inva- 

 riably mixed Vvith the seeds intended for laying down permanent pasture. 



The broad-leaved red clover — so called from the appearance of its 

 leaves and blossom, — although also a native species, is more generally grown 

 from seed imported from the continent than from that grown in England, 

 The knowledge of its culture was, indeed, as we have elsewhere mentioned*, 

 at first derived from Flanders, and, having been introduced to our agricul- 

 ture as the " great clover," was found so valuable, that within ten years 

 afterwards it was not only well known in this country, but had even made 

 its way to Ireland. It was, indeed, the first great step to the improve- 

 ment of our tillage system, for its abundant produce is not alone profitable 

 to the farmer, but land which has been exhausted by the growth of corn 

 is greatly restored to fertilitv by the shade, smother, and decomposition of 

 weeds occasioned by a weighty crop of this kind ; and red clover- — if its 

 general adaptation to our soil and climate are taken into consideration — is 

 in those res])ects regarded as superior to any other of our artificial grasses. 

 It is, however, only a biennial plant, which does not arrive at perfect ma- 

 turity until the year after it is sown, and dying in the next, it is generally 

 broken up after the crops of that year have been taken off; tliough, on poor 

 land, it is not unfrequently allowed to stand the second year in pasture, in 

 order to afford rest and consistence to the ground. 



The cow-grass is also a native plant of luxuriant growth, though not 

 equal to the former ; but as it continues in tolerable perfection until the 

 third year, and is, indeed, looked upon as a perennial, it is not unfrequently 

 sown along with the red clover, when it is meant to leave the land for two or 

 three years in pasture. There is likewise a species of scarlet trefoil, known 

 as " crimson clover," which has been introduced within the last few years 

 and seems to be gaining jeputation, of which cattle are very fond, and 

 which produces abundant crops. It is an annual plant, sown in autumn, 

 and is said to thrive best upon dry land, when sown upon a corn-stubble 

 which has been merely scariiied, without having been regularly ploughed f. 

 Its growth is peculiarly rapid in the months of April and May; and the 

 crop may be mown in time to be succeeded by turnips : it is also very use- 

 ful for the purpose of filling up vacancies in fields sown with red-clover, 

 when such have occurred from the lodging of corn or other causes. 



Clover icill groic upon almost any kind of soil, from the most sandy — if 

 combined with a sufficient portion of vegetable mould to aft'ord it some degree 

 of tenacity — to the stiftest clay ; but on marly land it appears as if at home. 

 The white is, however, belter adapted to light calcareous land, and to per- 

 manent pasture, than the broad-leaved red species, which is more calcu- 



* See the Introduction, p. 25. 



f " I have never known a single instance of faihire when the seed was committed to 

 an unploughed surface. In the beginning of 1833 I sowed some upon a strong and 

 rich soil upon a chalk bottom; the seedlings came up welf, hut in the course of the 

 winter all perished. In September Colonel Beach sowed a few acres in a field of a 

 similar nature, and here again the crop was a failure. At a distance of 200 3'ards, upon 

 soil precisely similar, and in the same season, a stiif unploughed wheat stubble pro- 

 duced as fine a crop as could have been desired ; the farmer had previously pursued the 

 same plan and has realized large produce," — British Farm. Mag., April, 1833. 



