PLANTS OF THE CLOVER FAMILY. 83 



stock would seem to react beneficially to the young 

 clover plants by impacting the soil near the surface 

 and thus lessening the loss of moisture through sur- 

 face evaporation. Sheep are considered more suit- 

 able for such pasturing than cattle or swine. 



But there may be instances when a stand of 

 clover can best be secured by sowing it alone, as when 

 the normal supply of moisture is low. When thus 

 sown, the soil should be made as clean as possible 

 before sowing the seed. It may not be possible thus 

 to clean the land when the seed is sown early, but 

 it may be cleaned, at least measurably well, by sur- 

 face cultivation, when the seed is deposited late in 

 the season. When sown on weed infested land, the 

 weeds should be kept down with the mowing 

 machine. 



Crimson clover is not usually sown earlier than 

 July, and it is not considered wise to sow it later 

 than September, unless in the mildest portions of the 

 south. Near the northern limit of production it is 

 thought more or less hazardous to sow later than 

 August. If the plants enter the winter in a weak 

 condition, the danger is imminent that they will 

 perish before spring. When preparing the land, it 

 is sometimes thought preferable to seek fine surface 

 cultivation without plowing the land, rather than the 

 deep cultivation which plowing secures. In some 

 instances, as on clean land, from which early vege- 

 tables have been harvested, the seed may be at once 

 sown and covered with the harrow. In other 

 instances it is sown in the standing corn and cov- 

 ered lightly with the last cultivation given to the 

 corn crop. There may be instances when it would 



