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RED CLOVER SEED 359 



system is extensive; the roots will go down 5 or 6 feet if 

 possible. 



As clover draws rather heavily on the supply of potash 

 and phosphorus, these elements should be present in fairly 

 liberal quantities. In general, any soil which will grow good 

 corn will grow clover. Wet, undrained land is not adapted 

 to red clover; on such soils, alsike clover can be grown more 

 successfully. On poor soils, the application of eight or ten 

 loads of barnyard manure to the acre will aid materially in 

 getting a good stand and healthy growth of red clover. 



455. Preparation of the Land. Where clover is sown in 

 the spring with grain sown the previous fall, no special 

 preparation is possible. Where it is sown alone or at the 

 same time as the grain, special attention should be given to 

 the preparation of the seed bed. The surface should be fine, 

 but the seed bed should be firm rather than loose. Clover 

 grows best in a soil that is well settled, as fall plowed land 

 or disked corn or potato land. Newly plowed land should 

 be disked or harrowed with heavy harrows to pack the 

 lower layers before clover seed is sown on it. 



456. The Kind of Seed to Use. Good clover seed is 

 plump and of a bright color, of uniform size and free from 

 weed seeds and other foreign matter. Bad weeds are 

 frequently brought to the farm through clover seed; a care- 

 ful examination should be made to determine that no such 

 pests are present. Home-grown seed is much safer to use 

 than that which is purchased, for it can be kept free from 

 weeds and there is no danger of introducing new and trouble- 

 some pests. New seed is not so desirable as that which is 

 a year old, because new seed usually contains a considerable 

 percentage of "hard seed" which will not germinate for some 

 months after planting. No seed should be purchased until 

 a sample has been obtained and a test of its purity and germi- 



