GROWING LEGUMES IN DRY AREAS 323 



year, the wisdom of sowing much clover is certainly to 

 be questioned. 



The kinds of clover that furnish food prized for live 

 stock, and that may be sown with some success in cer- 

 tain portions of the semi-arid belt are the common red, 

 the mammoth, the Alsike and the small white. Far 

 southward the Japan variety will probably be the most 

 valuable variety to grow. Sweet clover (see p. 335) may 

 also be grown for certain uses. 



Soils. Clover will grow well on all soils that are 

 suitable for alfalfa. It will also grow on soils that are 

 much more shallow, as in none of its classes or varieties 

 does it root so deeply. The Alsike variety is best adapted 

 to low, damp soils. Clovers will grow well on soils very 

 low in fertility. Japan clover is better adapted for such 

 a condition than the other clovers. 



Place in the rotation. The clovers follow naturally 

 where grain crops have been grown for a longer or 

 shorter term of years. The best place for clovers, viewed 

 from the standpoint of securing a good stand of the clo- 

 vers, is on land that has been summer-fallowed after a 

 grain crop or after a crop that has been cultivated. Such 

 land is clean and it usually contains sufficient moisture to 

 insure a stand of the clover when it is sown. The clovers 

 should be followed by corn, flax and the small grains. 

 The best succession is probably corn followed by grain, 

 but good crops of flax may usually be grown on clo- 

 ver sod. 



Preparing the land. The preparation of the land that 

 is suitable for the small grains (see p. 218) is also suitable 

 for clover. The seed bed that will grow these in best 

 form is also the seed bed that will grow clovers in best 

 form. A clean seed bed is important when these crops 

 are sown in dry areas, and the summer-fallow and the 

 cultivated crop which precede the small grains put the 

 land in such a condition. 



