18 FARMERS' BULLETIN 797. 



thickness of stand and the height of plants was so striking that the 

 last round of the phosphate spreader was plainly distinguishable. 



Yields of sweet-clover hay have been increased as much as 2 tons per 

 acre from applications of barnyard manure. Such an increased yield 

 would be equal approximately to 8 tons of green manure. Some 

 people may consider it poor farm practice to apply manure to such 

 crops as sweet clover, but it is very probable that the cumulative 

 effect of the increased yields of the following corps, especially on 

 soils low in organic matter, will be greater than if the manure is 

 applied to other crops. Heavy applications of manure to the pre- 

 ceding crop should also greatly benefit sweet clover. 



USE OF A NURSE CROP, 



If sweet clover is to become an important crop throughout the 

 North-Central States it must necessarily be seeded with grain. 

 Good success has been obtained by seeding sweet clover in the spring 

 on winter grain or with spring grain on soil that was inoculated 

 and not acid. Seed may be broadcasted in the early spring on winter 

 grain when the ground is in a honeycombed condition, or it may be 

 sown later when the ground may be cultivated. A large acreage of 

 sweet clover is sown in the' western North- Central States and in 

 Illinois in the spring with oats, barley, or wheat as a nurse crop. 

 Early varieties of oats and spring wheat have given somewhat bet- 

 ter results in portions of the Northwest than barley. In Illinois 

 oats are used almost entirely. Only a few fields were noted where 

 flax had been used as a nurse crop, but in these fields it was success- 

 ful. In wet seasons the sweet clover may make a growth sufficiently 

 large to interfere seriously with harvesting the flax. On this account 

 this combination should be tested thoroughly in an experimental way 

 before being recommended for general field practice. 



In those sections of the country where the moisture supply is lim- 

 ited, sweet clover should be sown without a nurse crop. Failure to 

 obtain a stand is more likely to occur when the seed is sown with 

 grain than when it is sown alone, because during dry weather, which 

 is likely to occur when the grain is maturing, the supply of moisture 

 in the soil is apt to be insufficient for both crops. When this con- 

 dition prevails the clover will suffer badly and in some cases be 

 killed. When sweet clover is sown with a nurse crop it is strongly 

 recommended that the grain be seeded at not more than two-thirds 

 the usual rate. This will give the sweet clover a much better chance 

 than when a full seeding is made. When severe droughts occur it 

 may be necessary to cut the grain for hay if the stand is to be saved. 



