372 FORAGE PLANTS AND THEIR CULTURE 



In Ohio and neighboring states, Drake advocates scat- 

 tering straw over fields of fall sown wheat in which it 

 is planned to seed clover the following spring. A thin 

 mulch of straw increases greatly the likelihood of a good 

 " catch " of clover. The effect seems due to the straw 

 keeping the soil surface moist and preventing packing and 

 erosion, and perhaps also by supplying humus. 



When the clover is seeded in spring with a small grain, 

 barley is preferable to oats, as it does not make so dense 

 a growth and thus injure the clover by shading. Where 

 wheat can be planted in spring, it is preferable to either 

 barley or oats. At the Minnesota Experiment Station, 

 clover seeded with wheat yielded 4360 pounds an acre 

 against 2360 pounds when seeded with oats. 



Seeding in corn is becoming a common practice in the 

 New England States. At the Massachusetts Experiment 

 Station this method was used seventeen years without 

 failure. In recent years, it has been the most satisfactory 

 practice in Vermont, and has given good results in Minne- 

 sota. It has not been successful in Kansas. 



Good stands of clover have been obtained in Tennessee 

 by sowing in tobacco at the last cultivation about the 

 end of July. Red clover may be sown in cotton stubble, 

 but this is rarely practicable. 



Sowing clover with two pounds of rape about the end 

 of May gives good results in western Oregon. Sowing 

 in July or August with turnips has proved satisfactory in 

 the Eastern States. 



At the South Dakota Station, excellent results were 

 secured by sowing medium clover in early spring on brome- 

 grass sod after thorough disking. The clover seed was 

 sown at the rate of 10 to 12 pounds an acre. In one field 

 the mixture yielded 5484 pounds of hay an acre of the 



