No. 4.] CLOVERS. 435 



difficult to swing the hand over it in sowing. Those who have not tried 

 this method of seeding appear usually to fear that the stubble of the 

 corn will be in the way in harvesting the hay crop ; but if the field be 

 rolled the spring following the seeding, no such difficulty will be expe- 

 rienced. Clover sown in this way in the corn becomes thoroughly 

 established before winter, it is very unlikely to winter-kill, and it will 

 give a full crop the following season. 



Selection of the Seed. 

 The clover seeds upon our American markets appear usually to be 

 of very good quality. European seed dealers have sometimes mixed 

 specially prepared sand of approximately similar color and sizes with 

 clover seeds; but, so far as the writer knows, this fraud has never been 

 undertaken in this country. In purchasing clover seed, then, it seems 

 necessary only to use care to obtain that which is free from admixture 

 with weed seeds, and which shows good germination. Among the weed 

 seeds most likely to be found mixed with clover seeds are dock and 

 sorrel. These can easily be recognized. There is occasionally a sample 

 of clover seed containing the seeds of dodder, — a thread-like parasite, 

 which attaches itself to the stems of the clover plants. Where this is 

 abundant the crop is practically ruined. The stems of the dodder 

 straggling from stem to stem unite the different plants so that they 

 cannot be separated ; it therefore becomes almost impossible to handle 

 and cure the hay. The presence of dodder, moreover, renders the hay 

 very unpalatable. The seed of the dodder is excessively fine, and in 

 cases where its presence is suspected a sample of the seed should be 

 sent to the experiment station for identification. 



Curing the Hay. 



The first point to be considered in connection with this topic is the 

 proper degree of maturity. Clover is often allowed to stand too late. 

 If it be suffered to remain until a considerable proportion of the heads 

 are brown and the seed ripe, there will be but little rowen, while there 

 is much danger that the roots of the clover will die after the crop is 

 cut. Relatively early cutting, then, — before many of the heads are 

 brown, — is desirable, both because a better rowen crop will be secured 

 and because the clover will persist in the mowing longer. 



Good weather is essential for the satisfactory making of clover hay, 

 as it is, indeed, for the satisfactory making of any hay; but it is far 

 more important in the case of the clovers than for timothy, on account 

 of the fact that the clovers need much more drying. The best hour 

 in the day for cutting, as it appears to me, is late in the afternoon. 

 Whatever the hour, it is essential to keep in mind the fact that in the 

 curing of clover hay it should be handled but little after it begins to 

 dry. It is generally well understood that too much handling as the 

 crop dries results in the breaking off of the leaves and heads, which are 



