362 



FIELD CROPS 



hay. Millet, buckwheat, and similar crops which make a 

 rank growth should never be used as nurse crops. 



458. Sowing Without a Nurse Crop. In sections where 

 the winters are not so severe as to make winter-killing prob- 

 able, the seeding of clover in August or early September 

 without a nurse crop is often more successful than sowing with 

 a grain crop. The use of a nurse crop allows the production 

 of a crop while the stand of clover is being established, and 



Fig. 112. A good stand of young clover in grain stubble. 



the stubble is of some protection to the young plants, par- 

 ticularly during the winter. The nurse crop, however, 

 often draws so heavily on the supply of soil moisture and 

 plant food that the clover is injured, while the sudden 

 exposure of the tender plants to the full effects of the sun and 

 wind in midsummer when the grain is removed is often 

 disastrous. The loss of a crop may be avoided by pre- 

 paring the land after the grain is harvested and sowing the 

 clover not later than August 15. _ So wing after that date 



