424 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



which follow clovers are likely to send their roots deeper into the soil 

 than when following grasses, which are more shallow rooted. Under 

 these conditions crops are less likely to suffer from drought. They 

 gather food from a wider soil area, and are consequently more certain 

 and less dependent upon applied fertility. The fact that other crops 

 almost invariably do well when following a good crop of clover is gen- 

 erally understood among farmers of experience, and these points, there- 

 fore, do not appear to need further discussion. 



4. The fact that when a clover sod is broken up the following crops 

 do exceptionally well has just been pointed out and is generally under- 

 stood. That the grasses growing in the field with clovers in permanent 

 mowings will ultimately derive great benefit from the clovers which 

 have grown with them is not so generally understood. That such is 

 the case, however, cannot be doubted. European experience has dem- 

 onstrated it, and many observations in America confirm the results of 

 European experience. It will be of interest to consider how this effect 

 is produced. As has been pointed out, a suitable selection of fertilizers 

 will maintain a large proportion of clovers in permanent mowings. It 

 must be remembered, however, that the individual clover plants are 

 not long lived. Most of our clovers are short-lived perennials. The 

 single plant will not, as a rule, live more than two or three years. 

 Clover is permanent in the mowing simply because some of the seed 

 almost invariably ripens previous to the cutting of the crop. Con- 

 siderable numbers of individual plants undoubtedly die every year. 

 It is the decay of the roots and stubble of these plants which accounts 

 for the benefit to the grasses. Grasses thrive where nitrogen in avail- 

 able forms is abundant in the soil. The decay of the roots and stubble 

 of clovers brings this element within the reach of the grasses, and thus 

 the clovers, which first help themselves by drawing nitrogen from the 

 air, in their death and decay help the grasses as well. Any permanent 

 mowing which at the outset is brought into good condition to produce 

 clovers in a few years will also be in a condition to produce a strong 

 growth of grasses as well as clovers. 



For four important reasons, then, the clovers are among the most 

 valuable of forage plants: first, the manurial cost of their production 

 is exceptionally low; second, they are richer in protein than most of 

 the forage crops, — far richer than the grasses; third, they enrich the 

 soil in nitrogen, as well as sub-soil it, so that the following crops are 

 almost invariably good; fourth, in permanent mowings they ulti- 

 mately so enrich the soil in nitrogen that the grasses as well as the 

 clovers make vigorous growth. 



