410 THE CLOVERS 



southern States. Like alsike, it will also grow on land deficient in 

 lime, but probably is not adapted to extremely wet soil on which 

 alsike would grow. 



Mixtures. White clover is recognized as a natural mixture with 

 blue-grass in the same way that alsike mixes well with redtop and red 

 clover with timothy. Both white clover and blue-grass are perma- 

 nent, long-lived perennials low growing in habit, spreading by creep- 

 ing root stalks, and well adapted to both lawn and pasture purposes. 

 They are commonly sown together for lawns, and almost always sown 

 in permanent pastures. In pasture or lawn mixtures, usually about 

 two to five pounds of white clover seed are used, or when sown alone, 

 five to eight pounds of seed per acre. Like other clovers, it can be 

 sown during any winter month or early spring. If sown in the fall, 

 it should have at least two to three months before freezing weather 

 comes in the northern States. White clover seed is grown mostly 

 in Michigan and Wisconsin, in the United States, in Ontario, and 

 several places in Europe. The seed is usually of good quality, and 

 retains vitality two to three years. 



SWEET CLOVER 



Description. There are three common varieties of sweet clover, 

 generally known as white sweet clover (Fig. 178), yellow sweet clover 

 and annual or " sour " clover. The white sweet clover is the largest 

 and most vigorous type, and about the only one recommended for 

 cultivation. It will grow from six to eight feet tall in ordinary good 

 soil. Yellow sweet clover is not quite as tall, less branching and has 

 fewer leaves. It probably would not yield more than half as 

 much forage as the white variety. The annual sweet clover is a 

 small variety growing from one to two feet in height, and an annual, 

 while the two others are both biennial. The annual sweet clover, 

 however, spreads very rapidly by natural means, and in some places 

 furnishes considerable natural forage, being most prevalent at 

 present in southern California. 



Large white sweet clover, which is also known as Bokhara, meliot, 

 or melilotus, and bee clover, is a native of temperate Europe and 

 Asia. Since its introduction into the Western Hemisphere^ it has 



