SOWING CLOVER SEED 361 



the wheat will not be injured but may even be benefited if 

 the season is dry, and the clover is much more certain to 

 succeed. If the seed is to be harrowed in, it should be sown 

 just as early as the land is in condition to work in the spring. 



When sown with a spring grain crop, the seed is usually 

 distributed by hand or with a broadcast seeder after the 

 grain is drilled, though it may be sown with a seeder attach- 

 ment to the drill. It is not customary to cover the clover 

 to so great a depth as the grain, though on loamy and 

 sandy soils the seed is sometimes sown in the drills with it. 

 When this practice is followed, the drill must not be per- 

 mitted to run more than 2 inches deep, and shallower seeding 

 is desirable. The usual quantity of clover seed sown is 

 from 6 to 10 pounds to the acre. When sown with timothy, 

 about 8 to 10 pounds of the seed of that grass are sown with 

 6 pounds of clover. 



Winter wheat is one of the best nurse crops for clover, 

 as it makes comparatively little shade, is removed from the 

 land early, and does not draw heavily on the moisture 

 supply. Winter rye is also good, and winter barley is hardy 

 enough to be used for this purpose along the southern edge 

 of the clover belt. Next to the winter grains, spring wheat 

 and spring barley possess desirable characteristics as nurse 

 crops. Oats draw heavily on the soil moisture and make a 

 dense shade, hence they are less desirable for this purpose, 

 though they are very commonly used. In some sections 

 the practice of sowing clover in corn at the last cultivation is 

 increasing (Fig. 113). Where there is plenty of moisture, 

 this usually gives a good stand, but in dry seasons it is quite 

 likely to fail. This method of seeding is somewhat objection- 

 able for the establishment of meadows, as the corn stalks or 

 stubble will cause some trouble the first season in making 



