22 FARMERS' BULLETIN 797. 



the seed bed usually is in good condition. At this season of the 

 year the seed may be sown, so that it will be covered by freezing 

 and thawing weather. It may be sown also when the ground is 

 in condition to cultivate and then may be harrowed or drilled in. 

 When the seed is sow T n with spring grain the seed bed is not as firm 

 as it should be for the prompt germination and establishment of the 

 young clover plants. If sown in this manner the soil should be 

 worked into a fine condition and firmed as much as possible. It is 

 good practice to roll the ground with a corrugated roller after seed- 

 ing. Better stands are usually obtained by seeding on fields that 

 have been disked and harrowed than on those that have been plowed. 



When sweet clover is seeded without a nurse crop it should not 

 be sown on freshly plowed land which has had no opportunity to 

 settle. The land preferably should be plowed several months before 

 the seed is to be sown, and then worked at intervals with soil packers 

 or harrows. Double disking and harrowing just previous to seed- 

 ing are to be strongly recommended in preference to plowing at 

 this time. 



When sweet clover is to be seeded in the fall on grain stubble, 

 the ground should be disked and worked into good condition as soon 

 as the grain can be removed. If the seed is sown immediately the 

 field should be rolled after seeding. 



Fall-plowed ground ordinarily makes an ideal seed bed for spring 

 seeding. Soil which has been previously planted to a cultivated 

 crop, such as corn, is usually put in sufficiently good condition for 

 sweet clover by disking. Good success has been attained by merely 

 broadcasting the seed on sandy soil and scratching it in with a 

 harrow. Such a seed bed appears to be ideal when the seed can 

 be covered sufficiently to insure plenty of moisture. It must be re- 

 membered that young sweet-clover plants are not drought resistant 

 and that every precaution should be taken in seasons of drought or 

 on land which drought affects badly to so prepare the seed bed that 

 the largest quantity of moisture will be conserved. 



Excellent stands have been obtained at times by double-disking 

 native prairie sod and either covering the seed with a harrow or 

 sowing it with a drill. 



SEEDING. 



The proper time to seed sweet clover should be determined by the 

 germination of the seed, the climatic conditions of the region, and 

 the condition of the seed bed at the time of sowing. When growing 

 under natural conditions, seed which has lain in the ground over 

 winter germinates in sufficient quantity during the following spring 

 to produce a stand. It is therefore assumed that since this seed 

 has passed the winter on or in the ground and has produced a good 



