168 AGRICULTURE 



finely pulverized, but well packed. If sown on freshly 

 plowed land, it is necessary to harrow until the ground be- 

 comes firm, otherwise a poor stand is sure to follow. The 

 ground should be clean, as clover is not a good fighter of 

 weeds. 



Red clover may be sown in the early spring on fields of 

 winter wheat. In this case no preparation of the seed bed 

 is required. The covering of the seed may be accomplished 

 by weathering. A more certain way is to harrow the 

 wheat after the clover has been sown, or even both before 

 and after the seeding of the clover. If properly done this 

 does not injure the wheat. Red clover is also often sown in 

 the spring with oats as a nurse crop. 



Another common method of seeding red clover is in 

 a field of standing corn just following the last cultivation. 

 This plan has worked successfully, especially in some of 

 the eastern and southern states. If the crop of corn is 

 heavy enough to shade the ground, or if the fall happens to 

 be dry, a successful stand is uncertain. 



Time of sowing. In the larger part of the red-clover 

 region, it does not seem to matter greatly whether the 

 clover is sown in the spring or the fall. Which time is better 

 depends on the season. Young clover plants do not easily 

 withstand drought. If a dry season follows the seeding, the 

 stand will not succeed no matter when the planting is done. 



In spring seeding with a nurse crop of winter wheat, the 

 clover should be sown at the earliest possible moment. If 

 the ground is not to be harrowed to cover the seed, it may 

 be sown on a late fall of snow. This gives the clover plants 

 the advantage of a start before the moisture is out of the 

 soil, and also before the nurse crop gets large enough to 

 shade the young plants. 



If the seeding is done in the fall, the crop should be 



