1898. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOLRNAIL. 



243 



and is pretty well settled by this utterance of the Ohio Experi- 

 ment Station, recently issued in a newspaper bulletin : 



HOW SHALL WE RANK SWEET CLOVER ? 



Many portions of Ohio have the roadsides and other sod- 

 den or " out of tilth " lands occupied by the white sweet clover 

 plant {MelUotiis alha, L.). Since it has been regarded as a 

 noxious weed the former Ohio Statute placed it in the same 

 list of proscribed plants with Canada thistle, common thistle, 

 oxeye-daisy, wild parsnip, wild carrot, teasel, burdock, and 

 cockle-burs. 



Under the operation of this statute, private lands might 

 be entered upon to destroy the melilotus growing for any pur- 

 pose as for bee-pastures. The destruction of bee-pastures in 

 this manner actually occurred near Delaware. 



Rightly, then, it may be askt, " How shall we rank sweet 

 clover ■?" To answer this we must consider where sweet 

 clover grows, and what is its character. Sweet clover grows 

 spontaneously along trampt roadsides, even to the wheel-ruts 

 in abandoned roadways, and in trampt or sodden land any- 

 where. When found in meadow lands it appears not to occur 

 except when the ground has been trampt by stock when wet. 

 It grows by preference in old brick-yards. It may be grown 

 in fields by proper tillage. 



The character of sweet clover may now be determined. 

 Viewing it in no other light we thus see that sweet clover 

 grows luxuriantly in places where few or no other plants 

 flourish. But it belongs to the great class of leguminous 

 plants which are capable, by the aid of other organisms, of 

 fixing atmospheric nitrogen, and storing it in the plant-tissue?. 

 It belongs with the clovers, and it may thus be used to im- 

 prove the land upon which it grows, and this appears to be its 

 mission. It occupies lands that have become unfitted for good 

 growth of other forage-plants. Its rank, then, is as aicsefui 

 plant, capable of increasing fertility of land. 



How shall sweet clover be treated ? 



The character determined, the treatment to be accorded 

 this clover plant is really settled. The plant is the farmer's 

 friend, to be utilized and not to he outlawed. The plant grows 

 and spreads rapidly. So do red clover, white clover, timothy, 

 blue-grass, and other forage plants ; but sweet clover grows 

 where they do not ; it indicates lack of condition for the 

 others. Viewed in this way it is to be treated as preparing 

 unfitted lands for other crops. 



It may be mown a short time before coming into bloom, 

 and cured for hay. Stock vMlthrive upon it if confined to it 

 until accustomed to it. The roadsides, if taken when free 

 from dust, may be made almost as profitable as any other area 

 in clover by cutting the sweet clover and curing for hay. If 

 this is regularly attended to while stock is kept from other 

 lands that it invades, sweet clover will be found doing always 

 the goou' work for which it is adapted. 



The italics in the above are ours. We wish that every 

 one who has been against sweet clover could read that strong 

 defense of it. 



A mississippian's estimate of sweet clover. 



The following paragraphs appeared in the Agricultural 

 Epitomist of last January : 



At the North, Melilotus alba is considered a weed and a 

 pest — not lookt upon with any degree of favor except as a 

 valuable plant for bee-pasture. In the South, it is one of the 

 most valuable fertilizing and hay plants we have ; also highly 

 appreciated for its early spring and late fall pasturage. Stock 

 are not fond of the plant at first, but soon acquire a taste for 

 it. For dairy cows the hay is specially valuable, very largely 

 increasing the flow of milk and the yield of butter, improving 

 the quality of both, in fact. None of the clovers are superior 

 to it as a fertiliser. It grows satisfactorily only on land well 

 supplied with lime. It is distinctively a lime plant, and if 

 there is but a very small percent of lime in the soil it will not 

 thrive well, and we advise against sowing on such lands. On 

 our lime prairie soils of East Mississippi and Central Alabama 

 this plant is largely grown. It thrives admirably with John- 

 son grass — in fact, the two supplement each other nicely. The 

 strong, deep-penetrating roots of the melilotus loosen up the 

 hard subsoil, and enable the Johnson grass to grow off to bet- 

 ter advantage. 



It matters not how severe the drouth or excessive the 

 rainfall, melilotus is a certain crop — a sure crop, independent 

 of any variation of the seasons — a plant that can be depended 

 on. 



As a fertilizing crop it cannot be excelled, if equaled, by 

 any of the leguminous soil-recuperating plants. On soils 

 where the highest limit of corn production did not exceed 



eight bushels per acre, a few years of melilotus-growing on 

 the land so enricht the soil that 30 bushels of corn per acre 

 was easily raised. 



Melilotus is a biennial, and reseeds itself every two years. 

 It stands cold as well as alfalfa and red clover. 



We have no seed for sale. We have no personal motive In 

 speaking so highly of the merits of this plant. Recognizing 

 these merits that characterize this plant, having personally 

 witnest the practical values of the plant on our own farm as a 

 fertilizer, bay, and pasture plant, we feel in a humor to do it 

 justice by giving greater publicity to its virtues. 



Is it not strange that a plant that has proven itself so 

 meritorious at the South, and growing steadily and continu- 

 ously in favor here, has no friends in the North to sing its 

 praises or accord it any worth whatever, save the apiarist — 

 the owner and lover of the honey-bee ? 



Oktibbeha Co., Miss. Edwin Montgomery. 



After copying Mr. Montgomery's high testimonial to the 

 value of sweet clover, Mr. A. I. Root has this to say in regard 

 to It in Gleanings : 



Please notice the writer is not a bee-keeper, does not sell 

 seed, and has no interest in any shape in the matter. I would 

 call special attention to what he says about its value in the 

 South, and I want to add that we very much doubt whether 

 there is a place in the North where cows cannot be taught to 

 eat sweet clover when it is pastured or cut at the right stage 

 of growth. I am sure there is not a locality anywhere where 

 it will not prove to be one of the best plants known to enrich 

 impoverisht soil by plowing It under. Our experiment stations 

 are pronounced in its favor wherever a test has been made. 

 Since the matter has been suggested in regard to lime for its 

 growth, I am inclined to think our friend is right about It. 

 This thing, at least, is true: It will grow on ground so poor 

 that no other plant can be made to make a stand. In fact, it 

 grows with rank luxuriance on soil thrown out from deep 

 railroad cuts; and such land can be made productive by plow- 

 ing under a heavy growth of sweet clover, without adding 

 anything else ; and, astonishing as it may seem, where the 

 ground is rich, and will grow all sorts of weeds, we oftentimes 

 fail to get a good stand of sweet clover. A. I. Root. 



In the April Bee-Keepers' Review appear several articles 

 on sweet clover, and also the beautiful illustration which 

 Editor Hutchinson has very kindly loaned for our use on the 

 first page this week. From the articles in the Review, we 

 copy the following, as it all comes in so nicely with the rest of 

 our symposium on sweet clover : 



how to grow sweet clover. 



In ray opinion sweet clover can be made to grow upon any 

 soil by a proper supply of lime applied thereto, artificially. 

 My plan would be to plant the sweet clover in hills, or drills, 

 the same as corn, and then use a cup full, a pint, or possibly a 

 quart of fresh slackt lime to each hill. I would use a hoe to 

 make a depression to receive the seed, then cover with lime, 

 and finish with soil. The seed will come up if covered two 

 inches deep, more or less. No one need be afraid to use even 

 a quart of slackt lime, if thought best, to each hill, for it is 

 my belief that the sweet clover plant will grow and thrive in 

 Itme alone, and without a particle of soil I My experience 

 along that line seems to corroborate that statement. Three 

 to five seeds to each hill will be ample, for if but one of them 

 germinates, the plant will make a stool large enough to shade 

 the entire plat of ground ; even if not closer than three feet 

 apart each way. M. M. Baldridge. 



Kane Co., 111. 



sweet clover makes good pasture — EASILY ERADICATED. 



J have sowed sweet clover upon pastures and waste-places 

 for the last six years, and cau say that it has filled the bill for 

 stock ; especially in dry seasons when other clovers and 

 grasses are literally dried up. It is a mistake to say that 

 stock will not eat it; as, after tasting it a few times, they 

 give it a preference. Last summer I saw a pasture of 17 

 acres in which sweet clover was eaten down close to the 

 ground, while Alsike, timothy, and white clover went to seed 

 in the same lot. Just over the fence, in another lot, the sweet 

 clover grew seven feet high, and so thick that one could 

 scarcely pass through It. 



It Is called a weed by some, but this is not the case. Of 

 course, if sown upon waste lands, such as swamps, open wood- 

 lands, clearings, etc., it will take the place of thistles and rag- 

 weed, and hold Its own, but, as It dies root and branch the 

 second year, there Is no trouble getting rid of It. Not only 



