CLOVERS AND ALLIED PLANTS. 



57 



stipules broad ; the flowers white or pale pink ; after 

 flowering the flower stalks turn down and press against 

 or into the soil where the seeds germinate. 



This clover is one of the class of volunteers. It produces 

 a certain amount of palatable food and grows even on dry 

 gravelly soils. Its habit of burying its seed secures its per- 

 manence in any land it occurs in, and it often becomes a 

 valuable constituent of thin dry pastures. In some places 

 in the Auckland Province it is said to take possession of 

 pastures. The seed is not usually on the market owing to 

 the difficulty of gathering it, but a little of it could be with 

 advantage sown on poor land in permanent pasture. 



Crimson Clover (Trifolium incar- 

 natum). An erect hairy annual, 

 with broad stipules, red or green 

 veined and not ending in a long point 

 (see fig. 23, p. 50). Flowers bright 

 scarlet on a long rather thin head. 



This Clover, while commonly 

 used in Europe and America, is 

 very little sown here. It grows 

 quickly, and in warm climates can 

 be drilled directly on the stubbles 

 of cereal crops to give Autumn 

 feed, or to be ploughed in. In 

 Canterbury where it might be 

 of much use it can hardly be 

 grown because of the uncertainty 

 of Autumn rains. It should 

 never be sown in pastures of even 

 temporary character because its place could be more profit- 

 ably taken by Red Clover in almost all circumstances. 



Lucerne is sometimes used as a pasture plant, but is usually 

 employed for forage. Its use in pasture is outlined on p. 78. 



Fig. 27. Crimson Clover, 

 (after Fream). 



