THE CLOVERS 



ing all the soil with roots that affect physical con- 

 dition favorably, and it provides a feed for live- 

 stock that gives a rich manure. 



Taking the Crops off the Land. The feeding 

 value of clover hay is so great that the livestock 

 farmer cannot afford to leave a crop of clover on 

 the ground as a fertilizer. The second crop of 

 red clover produces the seed, and, if the yield is 

 good, is very profitable at the prices for seed 

 prevailing within recent years. The amount of 

 plant-food taken off in the hay and seed crops 

 would have relatively small importance if manure 

 and haulm were returned without unnecessary 

 waste. Van Slyke states that about one third 

 of the entire plant-food value is contained in the 

 roots, while 35 to 40 per cent of the nitrogen is 

 found in the roots and stubble. Hall instances 

 one experiment at Rothamstead in which the re- 

 moval of 151 pounds of nitrogen in the clover hay 

 in one year left the soil enough richer than land 

 by its side to produce 50 per cent more grain the 

 next year. He cites another experiment in which 

 the removal of three tons of clover hay left the 

 soil so well supplied with nitrogen that its crop of 

 Swede turnips two years later was over one third 

 better than that of land which had not grown 



[51] 



