416 FORAGE PLANTS AND THEIR CULTURE 



The yield of seed to an acre in Europe seems to vary 

 greatly. Werner gives it as 260 to 520 pounds ; Schwerz, 

 as 350 pounds ; Sprengel, as 70 to 880 pounds ; Krafft, 

 130 to 440 pounds. 



Werner gives the average yield of straw as about 1000 

 pounds to an acre. 



When white clover is tall enough, it may be cut with 

 a mower, preferably with a buncher attachment. If 

 short, a light iron pan or a canvas is attached behind the 

 mower and the cut clover removed by a helper with a 

 pitch fork. 



497. Seed. White clover seed is very similar to that 

 of alsike, but is slightly smaller and pale yellow, pinkish 

 or pale brown in color. It is seldom adulterated except 

 with old seeds. 



The purity should reach 98 per cent and the viability 

 99 per cent. Good seeds germinate in 2 to 6 days. The 

 seed retains its viability well for two years and then 

 gradually deteriorates. It may contain any of the ordi- 

 nary weed seeds as impurities. 



A bushel weighs 60 to 63 pounds. One pound contains 

 732,000 to 800,000 seeds. 



498. Ladino white clover. This variety grows to 

 about twice the size of ordinary white clover. In recent 

 years various seedsmen have advertised it as Giant, 

 Mammoth or Colossal White Clover. Botanically this 

 variety has been called TrifoUum repens latum by Mc- 

 Carthy. 



Ladino clover is abundantly cultivated on irrigated 

 lands in Lombardy and derives its name from Lodi, where 

 it was probably first developed. In the subalpine Italian 

 valleys it is cut four to five times, and under these condi- 

 tions outyields alfalfa. It is grown only on heavy lands 



