324 CLOVERS 



that is to say, from October to March. The Mus- 

 covvi variety especially grows very rapidly. 



Egyptian clover in all its varieties is pre-eminently 

 a soiling plant. It is sometimes pastured and is also 

 made into hay. It is practically the one fodder crop 

 of Egypt, and is more commonly fed in the green 

 form. All kinds of stock are fond of it, and it 

 is fed freely to horses, donkeys and camels at labor, 

 to cows in milk, and to cattle that are being fat- 

 tened. It also serves to keep Egyptian soils sup- 

 plied with nitrogen, for the support of crops grown 

 on them in summer, especially cotton, and 

 various kinds of grain. Moreover, because of the 

 frequency of the cuttings, with the Muscowi variety, 

 its growth tends very much to check the growth 

 of weeds. 



Egyptian clover is not native to Egypt, but was 

 introduced from some country outside of Egypt, yet 

 bordering on the Mediterranean. This, at least, is 

 the view presented in Bulletin No. 23, issued by the 

 Bureau of Plant Industry, United States Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, from which source much of 

 what is written with reference to this plant has 

 been obtained. In Egypt more than 1,000,000 acres 

 are grown annually. It is also being tried, with 

 much promise, in other portions of Northern Africa, 

 as Tunis and Algiers. It is also now being experi- 

 mented with in various parts of the Southern and 

 Southwestern States. 



Egyptian clover is only adapted to a warm cli- 

 mate. In those parts of the United States which 

 have a climate not unlike that of Egypt, in many 



