paper it was taken from. It emphasizes the fact 

 made by Professor Thorne, of our experiment sta- 

 tion, that sweet clover, as a rule, occupies ground 

 where no other plant would grow; but after the 

 sweet clover has got a start, and has been plowed 

 under, various farm crops may be grown success- 

 fully._Ea] 



SWEET CLOVER CONTRASTED WITH ALFALFA. 



The following paragraph by Mr. W. A. Varian, of 

 Dublin, in regard to sweet clover, seems so pertinent 

 and well written that I copy it just as it is. 



Sweet clover, or Bokhara clover, as it is variously named 

 in the United States, is a biennial. When grown from seed 

 in the spring, it makes a fine growth for hay, or green feed 

 for cattle in the late summer ; but it does not flower in its 

 first season after sowing. The second-year growth starts 

 earlier than alfalfa (lucerne), so there is a good "bite" for 

 stock before the latter shows. In fields where both are 

 growing, these young plants look very much alike. The 

 melilotus, however, will endure as much drouth as alfalfa, 

 while it will do well on a much wetter soil than the latter. 

 It cares nothing for the hard winters of the Western United 

 States. I believe it was introduced into the States from 

 Tartary as a dry-weather forage-plant for stock, but was not 

 taken kindly to by the ranchmen, and has since spread as a 

 weed all over the West, from Michigan to Colorado, during 

 the past twenty-eight years. This result comes about be- 

 cause it sprouts in spite of the small attempts of the care- 

 less, slovenly farmer, and grows wild along the sides of 

 roads, railways, and irrigation ditches. It also spreads over 

 neglected corners and commons, apparently not caring how 

 hard or poor the soil is, where the climate suits, for I 

 have seen it growing as high as 5 feet when in flower. The 

 plant bears a great number of insignificant-looking bunches 

 of little white flowers which give out a strong smell of honey, 

 quite perceptible some distance away. GLEANINGS, JAN. 

 1, 1901. 



HULLED SWEET-CLOVER SEED SETS AS QUICKLY AS AL- 

 FALFA, ALSIKE, ETC.; THE HULLED 

 REQUIRES SIX MONTHS. 



The articles in GLEANINGS on the subject of sweet 

 clover are very interesting. I bought a few pounds 

 of The A. I. Root Co. in the fall of 1909. The 

 yellow was hulled, the white was unhulled. I sowed 

 both varieties in September. The yellow hulled seed 



45 



