Legumes 185 



It grows best in the timothy section, but is also cultivated 

 extensively as far south as Tennessee, as far north as Ontario 

 and Quebec, Canada, and as far west as the Dakotas. It is 

 grown to a limited extent in the Northwestern States and in 

 certain sections of the South. 



Well-drained, fertile soils of almost any type are suitable for 

 red clover, provided they are not acid. The crop does very 

 poorly on acid soils and liming is often necessary to secure a 

 good stand. Frequently soils that formerly produced red clover 

 profitably now fail to grow the crop, usually because of the 

 need of lime. 



In the North red clover seed is usually planted in the early 

 spring. One practice is to seed the land that has been planted 

 to grain in the fall to clover. When such fields are to be planted, 

 the clover seed is broadcasted on the growing grain very early 

 in the spring ; often it is sown when a late snow covers the field. 

 The soil is full of cracks at this season and the seed will sink 

 into the ground and be covered with soil that is washed on it 

 by the spring rains. Another practice is to sow the seed with 

 spring grain ; in this case it is seeded at the same time as the 

 grain. Where the young clover plant can stand the winter, 

 the seed is often fall-sown. This is practiced as far north as the 

 central part of Pennsylvania and Ohio. The first week in August 

 is considered to be the latest that it should be sown for Pennsyl- 

 vania and Ohio conditions. 



The harvesting of red clover for hay requires much care in 

 order not to lose the leaves and blossoms. The maximum yield 

 is secured if the plants are cut when in full bloom. When grown 

 with timothy, it is not always possible to cut the clover at this 

 stage. The timothy is usually about two weeks later in matur- 

 ing and the clover will have lost some of its quality when the 

 timothy is ready to cut. To avoid much loss of the leaves 

 and blossoms, red clover or timothy containing a large propor- 

 tion of red clover should be handled as little as possible when 

 making the hay. Usually it is a good plan to put the hay 



