52 



Tender these conditions crops are loss likely to snffer from 

 drouiilit. They gather food from a wider soil area, and are 

 consequently more certain and less dependent upon applied 

 fertility. The fact that other crops almost invariably do well 

 when following a good crop of clover is generally understood 

 among farmers of experience, and these points, therefore, do 

 not appear to need further discussion. 



•i. The fact that when a clover sod is broken up the fol- 

 lowing crops do exceptionally well has just been pointed out 

 and is generally understood. That the grasses growing in 

 the field with clovers in permanent mowings will ultimately 

 derive great benefit from the clovers which have grown with 

 them is not so generally understood. That such is the case, 

 however, cannot be doubted. Euroj^ean experience has dem- 

 onstrated it, and many observations in America confirm the 

 results of European experience. It will be of interest to 

 consider how this effect is ]")roduced. As has been pointed 

 out, a suitable selection of fertilizers w^ll maintain a large 

 proportion of clovers in permanent mowings. It must be re- 

 membered, however, that the individual clover plants are not 

 long lived. Most of our clovers are short-lived perennials. 

 The single plant will not, as a rule, live more than two or 

 three years. Clover is permanent in the mowing simply be- 

 cause some of the seed almost invariably ripens previous to 

 the cutting of the crop. Considerable numbers of individual 

 plants undoubtedly die every year. It is the decay of the 

 roots and stubble of these plants which accounts for the ben- 

 efit to the grasses. Grasses thrive where nitrogen in avail- 

 able forms is abundant in the soil. The decay of the roots 

 and stubble of clovers brings this clement within the reach 

 of the grasses, and thus the clovers, which first help them- 

 selves by drawing nitrogen from the air, in their death and 

 decay help the grasses as well. Any permanent mowing 

 which at the outset is brought into good condition to produce 

 clovers in a few years will also be in a condition to produce a 

 strong growth of grasses as well as clovers. 



For four important reasons, then, the clovers are among 

 the most valuable of forage plants: first, the manurial cost 

 of their production is exceptionally low; second, they are 



