118 THE CLOVER CROP. 



the one our highest authority 011 pathological botany, 

 the other ranking high both as a scientific and prac- 

 tical agriculturist. From these, although they contain 

 nothing definite, we may at least conclude that any- 

 thing that tends to reduce the healthy condition of 

 the plant renders it more susceptible to the influence 

 of disease, and that one form of disease may be readily 

 engendered by the decaying organic matter with which it 

 comes in contact in the soil. It would be desirable in any 

 experiments on the subject to see how far the practice of 

 feeding down the young plant may affect its vigour and 

 power of standing uninjured through the winter. If this; 

 as we are inclined to believe, exerts a debilitating influ- 

 ence upon it, it will, when practised, account for much of 

 the loss sustained either from the plants being killed out 

 by the winter weather, or so reduced in vitality as to fall 

 ready victims to any form of disease by which they might 

 be visited. 



The clover plant sometimes suffers from "mildew," espe- 

 cially on poor thin soils, where the annual varieties 

 are principally grown. This form of disease, however, 

 rarely injures them to any extent, and they speedily re- 

 cover their condition after a fall of rain ; indeed, the Red 

 clover (T. pratense) is a very good rustic hygrometer, as 

 its leaves are always more or less flaccid in dry hot 

 weather in summer, but on the appearance of rain they 

 stand up, and become firm and stiff. 



The diseases of plants, especially those cultivated on our 

 farms, have been so little studied in this country, and 

 are so little understood, that there is no doubt we annu- 

 ally sustain enormous losses in our crops, without being 

 at all aware of the fact, or if we are aware of it from the 

 disease showing itself in too marked a manner to be 

 unnoticed, without being able to apply any remedies, 

 owing to our ignorance of its true causes. A question may 



