SWEET CLOVER : GROWING THE CROP. 13 



found growing luxuriantly in many waste places and on unculti- 

 vated land, that a stand may be obtained by planting it at any time 

 of the year, in any manner, and under all conditions. Throughout 

 the eastern and southern portions of the country, with the exception 

 of a few regions rich in limestone, much care must be used in the 

 preparation of the seed bed, the selection of seed, and the manner of 

 seeding if success is to be expected. For this reason it is necessary 

 to understand fully the requirements for obtaining and maintaining 

 a successful stand. 



SOILS SUITABLE FOR SWEET CLOVER. 



Sweet clover thrives on the adobe and granitic soils of the Pacific 

 coast; upon the gumbo, hardpan. prairie, and sandy soils of the 

 western North-Central States; and upon the heavy clay, loam, lime- 

 stone, and sandy soils of the South and East. In fact, it has been 

 grown successfully on all the principal soil types of the United States 

 where the soils were not acid and were well inoculated. It grows 

 luxuriantly on the Selma chalk (rotten-limestone) soils of Alabama 

 and upon soils rich in calcium carbonate in many parts of the country 

 where the lack of nitrogen and humus has caused large numbers of 

 farms to be abandoned. The plants thrive on newly exposed heavy 

 clay soils and upon steep embankments where little else will grow. 

 Sweet clover is more tolerant of poor drainage, overflow, and seepage 

 conditions than alfalfa. In irrigated sections, especially where the 

 reservoir system is in use, large bodies of land are likely to become 

 useless for the growth of alfalfa because of the rising of the water 

 table. On such areas sweet clover will make a vigorous growth. 

 However, maximum growth is to be expected only on well-drained 

 soil. 



Sweet clover will do well on many soils which are not fertile 

 enough to grow red clover or alfalfa, and it is on these soils that it 

 will prove most valuable. Like many other plants, it makes its best 

 growth on fertile soils rich in calcium carbonate, although it will 

 make sufficient growth on poor soils which are not acid to warrant 

 planting it on them. Many hilly pastures may profitably be seeded 

 to sweet clover. It will not only make a valuable addition to the 

 forage of these pastures but will improve the soil so that grasses will 

 grow more abundantly. Some of the best pastures in the Middle 

 West are composed of bluegrass. timothy, and sweet clover. 



RESISTANCE TO ALKALI. 



Sweet clover grows successfully on soils in the West which appar- 

 ently are too alkaline for grains or alfalfa. The Wyoming Agricul- 

 tural Experiment Station reports that it has obtained good yields of 

 sweet clover on seepage land which is so strongly alkaline that no 



