38 LUTHER BURBANK 



Another of the Chilean clovers has a heart- 

 shaped brown spot on the leaf. The bloom and 

 seed of this variety closely resemble the common 

 bur clover, but the leaves are several times as 

 large as those of that plant. 



The bur clover (Medicago denticulata) is of 

 peculiar interest because it produces enormous 

 quantities of seed that fall from the stalks when 

 ripe, and in our dry climate may remain edible 

 for some months. 



The plant was at first thought to be a nuisance, 

 but its value in a region where there is no rain 

 for months together soon came to be recognized. 

 To anyone who is not acquainted with the bur 

 clover it is matter for astonishment to see a herd 

 of sheep, cattle, or horses, or a drove of hogs 

 pastured in a field where there is not a vestige 

 of green herbage; and yet to note that these 

 animals are well-conditioned and even fat. They 

 feed on the bur clover seed, the pods of which 

 sometimes cover the ground half an inch or more 

 in depth. 



The plant itself has withered and disappeared, 

 but the seed-bearing pods furnish a forage crop 

 that has no substitute in this region, although it 

 would probably be unsuited to the East. 



The bur clover has a small leaf and small 

 blossoms. It runs and spreads by long, wiry, 



