108 FODDER AND PASTURE PLANTS. 



is for pasture, either alone or as bottom grass in mixtures. It is 

 remarkably well suited for the latter purpose. It covers the ground 

 quickly, providing a pasture of high nutritive value, relished by all 

 kinds of stock. It stands tramping well and close grazing, instead 

 of being harmful, stimulates it to a stronger growth. If the moisture 

 is sufficient, it gives good pasture from spring to late summer. On 

 account of being perennial, it is especially suited for permanent 

 pastures and lawns. Six to eight pounds of seed will cover an acre. 



Seed : In reasonably moist seasons the production of White 

 Clover for seed is quite a profitable business, as the price is higher 

 than that of other clover seeds. In case of prolonged drought the 

 crop is light. The average yield is four or five bushels per acre. 



When grown for seed, it is generally grazed down during the 

 spring; sometimes it is cut for hay early in the season to encourage 

 the production of heads. As the plants continue to blossom for a 

 long time, the ripening is somewhat uneven. The seed crop should 

 be cut when most of the heads have turned a dark brown and should 

 be handled with the greatest care. 



Quality of seed: The seed of White Clover is yellowish red in 

 general appearance; any sample consists of a mixture of red and 

 yellow seeds. It is generally assumed that good seed is bright yellow 

 and that the red seeds are old and of a low germination. Tests made 

 with yellow and red seeds picked out of commercial samples have 

 shown, however, that there is no essential difference in the germin- 

 ation, provided the latter are plump and otherwise normally devel- 

 oped. The legal weight is sixty pounds per bushel. 



ALSIKE CLOVER (Trifolium hybridum L.) 



Plate 20; Seed, Plate 27, Fig. 52. 



Botanical description: Alsike Clover is perennial with erect 

 or generally ascending stems which do not root at the base as do 

 those of White Clover. They usually reach a height of one or two 

 feet and branch in their upper parts. The whole plant is hairless 

 and for this reason is brighter in colour than is Red Clover. The 

 leaflets are shorter and comparatively broader. The flower heads 

 have much longer stalks than those of Red Clover and in this way 

 are more like those of White Clover. They differ from the latter, 



