SELECTION OF SEED; FARM CROPS. 133 



the food which passes through the tap-root into the 

 branches. The branches are formed from buds, which 

 depend for their food upon the tap-root and its feeders, 

 the fibrous roots. From spring seedings of clover the 

 buds begin to develop in the late summer, lie dormant 

 through the winter, branch forth in the spring, and de- 

 velop into the mature plant. 



With the exception of the annual crimson clover, the 

 process continues two, three, or more years, as the case 

 may be. Crimson clover is usually seeded in the late 

 summer or fall; it develops the buds in the spring, and 

 dies after maturing the plant. 



In white clover the stem creeps along just under the 

 surface, throwing out roots at frequent intervals, which 

 penetrate the soil and gather food that is carried directly 

 into the stem, and by it to the branches. 



Power of Acquiring Food. The clovers readily ac- 

 quire food from the mineral constituents of the soil, and 

 differ from the cereals in being able to acquire their nitro- 

 gen from the air; hence on most soils the application of 

 this element is not so essential for their growth. The 

 clovers demand an abundance of potash and lime. 



Soil Improvers. The clovers are not exhaustive 

 crops, but rather soil improvers. The nitrogen gathered 

 and stored as organic substance in roots and stubble en- 

 riches the soil in humus and nitrogen, while the method 

 of growth, viz., the formation of large tap-roots, which 

 penetrate deeply, materially improves the physical char- 

 acter of soils. 



Boot Crops. Turnips, carrots, parsnips, beets, and 

 mangels are biennials. The first year or period of growth 



