CHAPTER XLII 



4 



THE CLOVERS 



RED CLOVER 



RED clover is now the most important forage crop in North 

 America (Fig. 172). Its easy culture, high feeding value, adapta- 

 tion to growing with timothy, and adaptation to systems of crop 

 rotation are the reasons for its popularity. 



Origin and History. Red clover is found growing wild 

 throughout temperate Europe, western Asia, and north Africa. In 

 its wild form, it is quite variable, and many varieties have been de- 

 scribed. Little is known about its early culture, but it had a 

 recognized agricultural value as early as the thirteenth century, was 

 rather common throughout Europe in the seventeenth century, and 

 very extensively cultivated in the eighteenth century. It was un- 

 doubtedly among the first plants introduced into North America, 

 and is distinctly mentioned in 1747. 



Red closer is cultivated at present as far south as Tennessee, but 

 the area of its most extensive culture is from the Ohio River north- 

 ward, including the provinces of Ontario and Quebec in Canada. Its 

 culture extends westward to the great dry plains region, which in 

 general would be fifty or one hundred miles west of the Missouri 

 River. It is also cultivated in the northwestern States. Red 

 clover is very cold-resistant, and is seldom killed out by freezing, 

 but it is limited southward and westward by the hot, dry weather 

 in midsummer. 



In the South red clover is regarded as a winter annual. It can 

 be sown in the fall and will make a light crop the following season, 

 but is usually killed out the following August. 



Soils for Red Clover. Red clover differs from alfalfa in pre- 

 ferring humid regions and very moist soil. It, however, is like 

 alfalfa in having a very high lime requirement. It has been noted 

 that red clover culture is declining throughout the eastern States 

 during the past decade. This is apparently due to the decreasing 

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