INJURIES TO THE YOUNG PLANT. 107 



This operation usually takes place in August, and by 

 this time the clover, if well got in and cared for, has ac- 

 quired a considerable power of growth, which shows 

 itself, immediately the field is cleared of the straw crop, 

 by its vigorous development, the field being soon covered 

 by its deep green foliage, and all traces of the stubble com- 

 pletely hidden. This generally is a period of great impor- 

 tance to the future welfare of the crop, and the more 

 healthy and vigorous it appears to be now, the greater are 

 the chances of injury to be inflicted on it. The first of 

 these generally arises from the pigs of the form, which it 

 is customary to turn into the young clover, for the purpose 

 of picking up any portions of corn that, owing to the too 

 common practice of leaving the barley standing until dead- 

 ripe, may have been left on the ground during the opera- 

 tions of harvest. These trample down the young and 

 tender plants in search of corn, root them up with the 

 snout in search of any roots of which they are fond, and 

 in some cases, when they fancy the clover itself, being 

 unprovided with cutting-teeth, they tear it up, frequently 

 destroying the entire plant, and always materially injur- 

 ing it. These animals are frequently followed by botli 

 cattle and sheep, the former of which do far more injury 

 than the latter. Sheep, however, feed much closer than 

 cattle, and when left on too long are apt to eat down 

 to the crown of the root, which, if left exposed to the 

 winter's frosts, is sure to succumb and die away before 

 the spring comes round again. This, probably, is one 

 of the causes of what is termed "clover sickness" in 

 our fields. In many cases we hear of the plant showing 

 well at first, but disappearing during the winter, and 

 when the growing time comes, either weeds or grasses 

 taking its place. In its early growth the clover is a 

 very tender plant, and the less it is touched after the 

 straw crop is cleared off the ground the better. The 



