214 CULTIVATION OF GRASSES. 



The species of clover in cultivation are — 



1. The common red clover, (Trifolium pratense^) 

 a biennial, and sometimes, if not permitted to seed, a tri- 

 ennial, known from the other species by its broad leaves, 

 luxuriant growth, and reddish purple flowers. 



2. The white, or creeping, or Dutch clover, (T. re- 

 pens^) is a perennial plant, known by its creeping stems 

 and white flowers ; and sprmging up, it would seem, al- 

 most spontaneously, in most of our pastures and meadows. 



3. The yellow clover, hop-trefoil, or shamrock clo- 

 ver, (T. procumbens,) a biennial, known by its procum- 

 bent shoots, yellow flowers, and black seeds. This 

 species is not cultivated among us, though it seems to 

 abound in the northern and middle States. 



4. The cow-grass, meadow clover, or marl-grass, (T. 

 medium of Linnaeus, and resembling, says Beck, the T. 

 Pennsylvanicum of Wild,) is a perennial, resembling the 

 red clover, but of a paler hue, dwarfer habit, with pale red 

 or whitish flowers, and long roots, very sweet to the 

 taste. Whether what we term Southern Clover is the 

 T. medium, or T. Pennsylvanicum, or a variety of the 

 T. pratense, we shall leave it to botanists to settle, bare- 

 ly remarking, that its time of flowering is usually ten to 

 fourteen days earlier than that of the northern red clover. 



5. Scarlet clover, (T. incarnatum,) an annual, a na- 

 tive of Italy, but little known or cultivated either in the 

 United States or Great Britain. We have sown it 

 twice on a limited scale ; and although it promised a 

 handsome product, it did not attain its growth in time for 

 a forage crop, or to mature its seeds. 



Of the species we have named, the pratense, repens, 

 and medium, if the latter be a distinct species, are the 

 only ones which are, or are likely to be, cultivated among 

 us. The first yields the heaviest burden, but is coarser, 

 and later in maturing than the last named ; and the lat- 

 ter has consequently one manifest advantage orer the 

 former, — it will give two crops in a season, one to the 

 scythe, and one for seed. It is to be remarked, that the 

 first growth or crop of clover seldom produces much seed, 

 on account of the heat of our mid-summer. If the first 



