is the first I knew of sweet clover. I found at that 

 time in an orchard on our own farm, about 80 rods 

 from home, a nice patch, probably planted there by 

 an old settler. I now live just across the road from 

 that orchard, and that patch is there yet. The land 

 is farmed all around that orchard, but not a plant of 

 that sweet clover can I find in the field ten steps 

 away, without any pains whatever to eradicate it 

 except to till the land as usual. 



A few years ago many of my neighbors were afraid 

 of it, but now they know better. One of them asked 

 me if I could sell him half a bushel of the seed last 

 fall, as he wished to seed a little patch of bottom 

 erovmd where the river had washed away the soil. 

 Several of my neighbors have begun to sow sweet 

 clover on low ground where the river washes badly. 

 About two miles from here there is lots of sweet 

 clover along the roadside. Near that place are 12 

 acres of bottom land that was made almost worthless 

 by high water sweeping the soil off. An enterprising 

 young farmer bought this land at about half price, 

 he having noticed that the rains had washed the 

 sweet-clover seed from along the road above, down 

 across this field, and it had become thickly set to 

 sweet clover. This field had lain idle for one year 

 then; and as the high water came down again the 

 next spring this sweet clover caught lots of the 

 sediment, and sweet clover and all was plowed un- 

 der. That land is now good for 60 to 75 bushels of 

 corn every favorable year. That one transaction 

 did more to gain friends for sweet clover than ever 

 so many arguments. 



About eight years ago I lived in Henry Co., 111., and 

 I cut and put up a small stack of first year's growth 

 of sweet clover, and in thg winter the cows seemed 

 to relish it as well as red clover, and much better 

 than timothy. 



This spring I tried a little experiment. I had dug 

 a well 57 feet deep. The last dirt was dumped in 

 one pile. This was blue clay and soapstone. I then 

 went and dug up a plant of sweet clover and trans- 

 planted on this pile. That plant grew as thrifty as 



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