WHITE AND ALSIKE CLOVERS 371 



White clover is occasionally sown in pasture mixtures at 

 the rate of from 2 to 5 pounds to the acre, though the natural 

 growth of this plant is generally depended on to produce a 

 good stand in pastures. Its prostrate or trailing habit 

 materially helps it in its spread, as the stems root at the 

 joints and produce new plants. It is for this reason and on 

 account of the small size of the seeds that white clover 

 spreads so rapidly, and that such a small quantity of seed 

 is needed to obtain a good stand. White clover is an 

 important honey plant, and is also generally used in lawn 

 mixtures. With blue grass it makes a close, even turf which 

 stands frequent cutting. The seed is produced mostly in 

 eastern Wisconsin, where this plant is grown in a two-year 

 rotation with barley. The price is usually about the same 

 as that of red clover seed. 



ALSIKE CLOVER 



468. Alsike Clover is intermediate in appearance between 

 red and white clover, and is claimed by some to be a hybrid 

 between the two species. Its botanical name, Trifolium 

 hybridum, indicates such an origin, but botanists now 

 generally agree that it is a distinct species. The plant 

 makes a slender, upright growth, which needs support to 

 prevent lodging, so that it does best in a mixture with some 

 of the grasses, as timothy or brome grass. As the stems are 

 smooth, it makes a cleaner hay than red clover. The leaves 

 have long stalks like white clover; the leaflets are somewhat 

 larger than those of white clover, as are also the heads of 

 pink flowers and the yellow or green seeds. The name alsike 

 is from the town of Syke or Alsyke in Sweden, where the 

 plant is said to have been first cultivated. Another common 

 name, Swedish clover, is from a similar source. 



Alsike clover is particularly adapted to wet lands, where it 



