Vol. XIY 



JULY 15, 188(>. 



No. U. 



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RAGWEED, MAYWEED, SMARTWEED, 

 BT AL., VERSUS SWEET CLOVER. 



IS SWEET CLOVER A BAD WEEDV 



K. C. FAUST, of Harvard, 111., desires that I 

 should g-ive in Gleanings the facts in re- 

 gard to the character ot melilot, or sweet 

 clover. He sa.'is in his region it has been 

 planted largely along: the roadsides, but it 

 is being cut by the farmers, as they refuse to let it 

 grow and seed, for fear it will become a serious pest 

 in their meadows and cultivated tlelds. Mr. F. adds, 

 that it is this beautiful jilant with its rich product 

 of superior honey, or else ragweed and mayweed, 

 M'hich he feels sure are important factors in the 

 jiroduction of "hay fever." I ha\e no knowledge 

 in reference to the jiart ragweed and mayweed 

 l)lay in the production of hay fever; but I have 

 raised sweet clover now every year at the college 

 for several years, and I feel certain of the follow- 

 ing points: 



1. Sweet clover is a very excellent honey-plant; 

 ». It is very beautiful, both from its rich tine foliage 

 and graceful sweet-scented blossoms. Surely rag- 

 weed, mayweed, smartweed, etc., bear no compari- 

 son to it as an adornment to the highway; :i. It is 

 not hi\(\ to pprCHd at this place. We rarely Hud it 

 starting at any considerable distance from our beds; 

 and when it does start in meadow or pasture it 

 rarely holds on, lieing choked out liy our cultivated 

 grasses; 4. When once started it is no difticult mat- 

 ter Ht all to got rid of it. As is well known, this 

 clover is a biennial, and grows from seed tiowering 

 the second year. Thus b.^■ cutting while in bloom, 

 or before the seeds mature, we shall (juickly extir- 

 pate it. It can not remain longer than two years 



after such cutting, as it must come from seed every 

 other year. 



So I am free to urge the farmers of Illinois and 

 other States to foster rather than destroy this plant. 

 They will thus adorn the roadsides, and will also aid 

 to foster and deNcloii an important industry. 



At this writing our beds of sweet clover— melilot 

 {indilotus alba) are in full bloom, and it is hard to 

 say which is more attractive to the bees— this or the 

 basswoods, which are also in full bloom. 



Agricultural College, Mich. A. J. Cook. 



Friend Cook, 1 agree with you exactly. 

 Sweet clover has been on our grounds sever- 

 al years. In fact, we had half an acre at 

 one time, and the seed was hardly ever gath- 

 ered, and hence it came up so thickly it 

 could not grow. For about one year it was 

 a little troublesome. Since then it has en- 

 tirely disappeared. None of it is found on 

 our grounds at all, unless it is an occasional 

 shoot that comes up among the strawberries 

 and in such places. It is true, they are a lit- 

 tle hard to pull ; but after a soaking rain 

 they will come up as well as docks, or other 

 kinds of clover. Now, while it is true that 

 it doesirt hold its own in cultivated fields, it 

 is also true that sweet clover will grow in 

 any kind of hard yellow clay right by the 

 roadsides, or on barren hills. Dr. ('. C. Mil- 

 ler, as voii will remember, suggested as a 

 reason for this (see page 441), that it seems 

 to endure unv kiiul of treatment or hard 

 usage. On that ac(;ount it gets a hold along 

 the roadsides when it is not found elsewhere. 

 i Bee-keepers have been accused of sowing the 

 seeds along the roadsides about Medina ; 

 I but I do)i"t think any bee-keeper would take 



