INOCULATION 413 



such a vigorous plant, however, that the roots will often reach 

 into the subsoil, where the lime supply is frequently sufficient when 

 the surface is exhausted. For this reason we sometimes find it grow- 

 ing on soils where red clover and alfalfa would fail. Sweet clover is 

 very commonly found growing wild along railroad cuts where the 

 subsoil is exposed, which illustrates its ability to grow in raw soils, 

 poor in organic matter, where most cultivated plants would fail. 

 Sweet clover will also grow in impoverished sand hills, and 

 sandy soils where few other cultivated plants would succeed, and 

 for this reason is recommended as a plant for green manure on 

 such soils. 



Utilizing the Crop. Sweet clover has a decidedly sweet odor, 

 from which it derives its name. This odor is due to the presence 

 of cumarin, which gives a peculiar bitter taste. Animals usually 

 refuse sweet clover plants until they have acquired a taste for them. 

 However, animals will usually eat the young plants readily, as these 

 contain much less cumarin. If continued on sweet clover pasture, 

 they acquire a taste for it, and there is no difficulty in using it as a 

 pasture plant. When made into hay, a considerable proportion of 

 the cumarin is volatilized, but the hay has a decidedly sweet odor 

 and animals must be accustomed to it. 



Sweet clover makes an excellent temporary hog pasture, and in 

 some places is used to a limited extent for cattle pasture. It is 

 claimed that if a part of the plants are permitted to go to seed in the 

 fall of each year and the new plants allowed to make some start a 

 continuous pasture may be maintained for several years, although the 

 plant is really a biennial. 



For hay, sweet clover should be cut before it comes into bloom, 

 as the large stems become woody very rapidly. Under favorable 

 conditions a light cutting of hay can be made the first year it is 

 sown, and two to three cuttings the second year. The second year 

 it should yield three to four tons of cured hay per acre. 



Inoculation. Sweet clover grows naturally over such a wide 

 area that many do not think it needs inoculation. It is probable that 

 more natural inoculation is carried on the seed of sweet clover than 

 most legumes, especially when it is sold in the rough. Experiments 

 have shown, however, that it responds almost as well to inoculation 



