THE CLOVERS 



clover, when left on the land, can be obtained by 

 clipping it before it is sufficiently heavy to smother 

 the plants, leaving it as a mulch. When the 

 cutter-bar of the mower is tilted upward, the 

 danger of smothering is reduced. Truckers, re- 

 mote from supplies of manure, have found it 

 profitable to make two such clippings just prior 

 to blossoming stage, securing a third heavy growth. 

 The amount of humus thus obtained is large, and 

 the benefit of the mulch is an important item. 



Some growers clip the first crop for a mulch, 

 and later secure a seed crop. The early clipping 

 and the mulch cause increase in yield of seed. 



A common practice is to take one crop off for 

 hay, and to leave the second for plowing down 

 the following spring. Early harvesting of the 

 clover for hay favors the second crop. 



When to turn Down. When the maximum 

 benefit is desired for the soil from a crop of clover, 

 the first growth should not be plowed down. Its 

 office should be that of a mulch. In its decay 

 all the mineral plant-food and most of the nitrogen 

 go into the soil. The second crop should come 

 to maturity, or near it. As a rule, there is gain, 

 and not loss, by letting the second crop lie on the 

 ground until spring if a spring-planted crop is to 



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