MEDIUM RED CLOVER 85 



short period which it occupies the ground. Nor 

 is the shade so dense as from grains that grow 

 taller. Oats are the least suitable of all the crops 

 named as a nurse crop, since they are characterized 

 by a dense growth of leaves, which shut out the sun- 

 light too much when the growth is rank. Notwith- 

 standing, the oat crop may well serve such an end 

 when sown thinly and cut for hay. Mixed grains 

 grown together, as, for instance, wheat and oats, or 

 a mixture of the three, answer quite as well for a 

 nurse crop as clover and oats. The objection to 

 them for such use arises from the fact that they 

 are frequently sown more thickly than grain sown 

 alone. 



Clover may also be sown with flax or millet or 

 mixed grains grown to provide soiling food. When 

 the weather is moist, it is likely to succeed well with 

 flax, as the latter does not form so dense a shade 

 when it is growing as some other crops. But flax 

 is usually sown so much later than these crops, that 

 in some climates the dry weather following injures 

 and in some instances destroys the young plants. 

 The dense shade furnished by millet is also detri- 

 mental to the clover plants; nevertheless, owing to 

 the short period which the former occupies the 

 ground, under favorable conditions a stand of clo- 

 ver may be secured. But since millet is sown later 

 than flax, it frequently happens that there is not 

 sufficient moisture in the soil to sustain both crops. 

 Mixed grains sown as soiling food are usually sown 

 reasonably early, and as they are cut before matu- 

 rity, the danger is so far lessened that the young 



