234 FORAGE CROPS 



full advantage its capability of gathering nitro- 

 gen. In many cases, particularly on soils that 

 are likely to heave, a mulch of manure is very 

 advantageous as a protection. 



Methods of seeding red clover 



The method of seeding most generally prac- 

 ticed is to sow in March or April, on wheat or 

 rye (which was seeded the fall previous), when 

 the ground is still moist, and danger of very 

 heavy freezing is past. By this practice, the light 

 freezing and subsequent drying of the soil causes 

 the seed to be covered, and it will then germi- 

 nate and make a light growth previous to har- 

 vesting. It is also seeded in spring with oats or 

 barley; this is a common practice in regions 

 which are cool and moist, as in many of the 

 western states. 



The quantity of seed ranges from eight to 

 twelve pounds per acre. The plants grow rather 

 feebly until the grain is removed, when they 

 usually come forward rapidly, sometimes permit- 

 ting a fall cutting, but in any case they make a 

 crop the following year. 



Recently, however,— especially where the plant 

 is grown primarily for forage purposes,— the seed- 

 ing is made in the latter part of August or early 

 September, without nurse -crop, usually following 



