'ALSIKE CLOVER 2O7 



chiefly for hay. It is not wise, usually, to sow alsike 

 clover alone for hay, owing to its tendency to lodge. 

 In the South it is frequently sown with red top and 

 orchard grass, especially the latter. It fills in the 

 spaces between the plants in the orchard grass, and 

 in so doing adds much to the hay or to the pasture. 



There may be conditions in which it would be 

 advisable to sow alsike clover alone, as when it is 

 wanted for seed, and subsequently for pasture. But 

 ordinarily to provide pasture, it is better to sow it 

 along with some other grass or clover, or with a 

 number of these. It greatly improves a timothy 

 pasture in the upland or in the valley. It has also 

 been used with much advantage in strengthening 

 alfalfa pastures for horses in winter in certain of 

 the Rocky Mountain valleys. It would probably be 

 correct to say that with the area of adaptation for 

 this plant, no kind of pasture can be grown on rea- 

 sonably moist land that would not be benefited by 

 having alsike in it. Among the clovers it has, rela- 

 tively, high adaptation for permanent pastures, be- 

 cause of its enduring character. 



The seeds of alsike clover are small. They are 

 considered to be less than half the size of those of 

 medium red clover, consequently, the amounts of 

 seed are relatively much less. When alsike clover 

 is sown alone and for seed, from 3 to 5 pounds of 

 seed should suffice per acre, according to the soil 

 conditions. Four pounds are frequently sown. In 

 the various mixtures given above, the amounts of 

 seed will vary with local and other conditions, but 

 the following amounts may be given as averages : 



