84 



AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 



March 



GROWING SWEET CLOVER 



Cultural Requirements of the Plant Under Field Crop Conditions 



IT frequently happens that, having 

 seen sweet clover growing along 

 roadsides, on gravelly banks and 

 other unpromising situations, we are 

 surprised to fail in getting a stand in 

 a well prepared held. Sweet clover 

 requires a firm seed bed, and will not 

 succeed on land where the soil has 

 been deeply stirred and left in a 

 loose condition. It is well to scratch 

 the surface with a tool that does not 

 penetrate deeply, leaving the surface 

 loose for an inch or so, and compact 

 below. While it will succeed on a 

 great variety of soils, it requires 

 that they be in well settled condition 

 and not freshly plowed to a depth of 

 several inches, such as best suits 

 many forage plants. This condition 

 probably accounts for more failures 

 in getting a stand of sweet clover 

 than any other cause. 



Sowing the seed on top of the 

 ground or on the snow in winter, 

 will often secure a good stand with 

 no cultivation at all. Good results 



The time of sowing will depend 

 much upon the manner in which the 

 crop is to be handled. Where it is 

 desired to sow the seed on old 

 meadows or pastures without plow- 

 ing, it will probably be best to scat- 

 ter it in winter or early spring. The 

 freezing and thawing have a tend- 

 ency to soften the hard coat of the 

 seed, as well as to cover it with 

 earth. As a field crop, the writer's 

 limited experience would indicate 

 that spring sowing, with a nurse 

 crop that can be cut early, will be 

 best. 



There is a great diversity of opin- 

 ion as to the proper amount of seed 

 to sow. Where it is used to thicken 

 up meadows or pastures a smaller 

 amount is needed than where sown 

 as a field crop on newly prepared 

 land. Some growers say that 4 pounds 

 of good unhulled seed per acre is 

 sufficient to sow on grass lands. As 

 high as twenty pounds of hulled seed 

 per acre is advocated by some for a 



TAKING SOIL FOR INOCULATION FROM A SWEET CLOVER PATCH 



often come from sowing it with 

 small grain in spring, on land that 

 has been cultivated the previous sea- 

 son. Some succeed by sowing after 

 the last cultivation of corn, the seed 

 germinating to some extent the same 

 season, while some does nol sprout 

 until the following spring. The ideal 

 condition is to cover the seed from 

 half .-in inch to an inch witli finely 

 pulverized soil, with a firm soil un- 

 derneath. 



Time of Sowing 



I clover may I"' sowed in 



winter or early spring, as above 



Mated, or at any time from March 

 until August, it should not bi 



ed when it i- likely to start SO late 

 that it will not have time to estab- 

 lish itself firmly before wintei ' 

 the different conditions of soil and 

 e of this great country, it i- 

 difficult to give general din 

 that will apply everywhere. 



field crop. The seed covering is very 

 hard, and, unless treated, only about 

 half of it will grow the first year. If 

 the seed is scarified the hard coat is 

 scratched until it germinates readily, 

 and much less seed is necessary to 

 secure a stand than otherwise. Ten 

 pounds of hulled and scarified seed 

 per acre should be sufficient on good 

 land. 



It is often difficult to get a stand 

 on old land which is deficient in lime, 

 for lack of the nitrogen-gathering 

 bacteria that thrive on the roots of 

 the clovers. It is sometimes neces- 

 sary to treat a small area with a 

 good coat of manure, and sometimes 

 with crushed lime. After the sweet 

 clover is growing well on this land 

 the area can be gradually extended. 



Utilizing the Crop 



Probably there is no forage crop 

 which will furnish as much pasture 

 per acre as will sweet clover in its 

 second year of growth. It should be 

 allowed to get a good start in spring 

 before stock is turned in, and the 

 area should be sufficiently large for 

 the animals thus kept. Cattle, hogs 

 and horses all eat it with relish after 

 they become familiar with it, and 

 thrive equally on it. It is a com- 

 mon practice to pasture the crop 

 during the first part of the second 

 season and then to turn the stock off 

 and harvest a seed crop. The writer 

 has harvested a very good crop of 

 seed from a limited area, which was 

 pastured lightly through the entire 

 summer until the crop was cut. Of 

 course, it is not possible to pasture 

 heavily after midsummer, and still 

 secure a good crop of seed. 



Sweet clover makes a good quality 

 of hay if cut at the proper time and 

 well cured. If a seed crop is to be 

 cut, the first crop of the second sea- 

 son may be cured for hay by cutting 

 high enough to leave some of the 

 small branches on the lower part of 

 the stem. If cut too low at this time 

 the plants will die. Sweet clover hay 

 requires more time to cure properly 



CUTTING WHITE SWEET CLOVER 



