338 DRY LAND FARMING 



an attachment of the grain drill. It is better to sow the 

 seed shallow. This will be at once apparent from the 

 fact that the crop is self-sown in so many instances, the 

 seeds falling on the surface. But when spring-sown, the 

 seeds cannot usually germinate without a certain amount 

 of covering. The amount of seed that will suffice is not 

 large, probably not more than 6 to 8 pounds per acre. 

 But information on this point is very meagre, because of 

 the slight extent to which it has been sown in dry areas. 



Care of the crop. When sown with a nurse crop, 

 sweet clover does not require any other attention than 

 what will be called for by the nurse crop. When sown 

 alone it may profit by harrowing more or less. Should 

 the crop ever prove troublesome, as is sometimes the 

 case, by volunteering to grow where it is not wanted, 

 it may soon be removed by simply preventing it from 

 going to seed. It is a biennial, hence the plants can only 

 persist in growing for two years. Should it grow in 

 alfalfa fields, the frequent cutting of the alfalfa will soon 

 cause it to disappear. Should it grow on the sides that 

 line the irrigating ditches, it may soon be removed from 

 these by persistent cutting, and it may be readily sup- 

 planted by alfalfa, if the seed is sown at the proper 

 season. 



Harvesting for hay. When this crop is harvested 

 for hay it is greatly important that it shall be cut at an 

 early stage of growth, as early as the stage of the first 

 appearance of bloom. If allowed to grow longer, the 

 stems become woody. Because of a bitter principle 

 which the plants contain, they are not relished by live 

 stock, but in dry areas where other grazing plants and 

 other forage may not be present in much variety, they 

 soon learn to relish the plants, as pasture or as forage. 

 It is managed like alfalfa when harvested for hay (see 

 p. 318). 



