362 FORAGE PLANTS AND THEIR CULTURE 



It was probably introduced into the United States by 

 the early English colonists, but the first published mention 

 of its culture was by Jared Eliot, who wrote of its being 



grown in Massachu- 

 setts in 1747. 



Its introduction into 

 European agriculture 

 had a profound effect 

 in that clover soon 

 came to be used in ro- 

 tations in place of 

 bare fallow. Its in- 

 fluence there on agri- 

 culture and civiliza- 

 tion is stated by high 

 authority to be greater 

 than that of the 

 potato, and much 

 greater than that of 

 any other forage plant. 

 Clover not only in- 

 creased the abundance 

 of animal feed and 

 therefore of manure, 

 but also helped greatly 

 by adding nitrogen to 

 the soil directly. 



It is now much cultivated not only in Europe and 

 America, but also in Chile and New Zealand. 



424. Importance and distribution. Red clover is by 

 far the most important leguminous crop grown in America. 

 The area devoted to it is about five times as great as that 

 to alfalfa. More exact comparisons are not possible, 



FIG. 39. Red clover. 



