84 FORAGE CROPS. 



with humus and underlaid with clay; and, judging 

 by the tests that have been made, it would seem 

 to thrive best on the deposit soils of the Rocky 

 mountain basins. But moisture must be present in 

 goodly supply before it can grow well on any soil. 

 The slough lands of the prairie regions would seem 

 to have special adaptation for Alsike clover when 

 water is not present in too plentiful supply. On 

 such soils it may be submerged for days at a time 

 without injury in the ea-rly springtime, but the 

 waters that cover it must, of course, be quite shal- 

 low. It will not grow well on sandy or gravelly 

 soils, poorly supplied with the elements of fertility. 

 The clay loam soils of the Puget Sound country, 

 with the abundance of moisture which they possess, 

 furnish a perfect paradise for Alsike clover. 



Preparation of the Soil. — The preparation of 

 the soil for Alsike clover is essentially the same as for 

 medium clover. (See Page 70.) And there are 

 localities where this clover can be sown on newly 

 cleared lands without any other preparation than 

 that of removing the timber in whole or in part that 

 grew upon them. Of course, if the fire has been 

 made to consume a part of the waste timber, or all 

 of it, the "catch" of the seed will be more satisfac- 

 tory. Even harrowing may not be necessary. Such 

 are the timber lands west of the Cascade mountains. 

 Some grasses, as blue grass, for instance, should be 

 sown along with the clover. The small white 

 clover will soon come, as it were, spontaneously on 

 such lands. 



Sowing. — Nearly all that has been said with 

 reference to the sowing of medium red clover will 

 also apply to the sowing of Alsike clover. (See Pa':^e 



