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This clover is not well adapted to dry, sandy or gravelly soils with 

 porous or leachy subsoils. It prefers moist clayey soils. It does best in 

 the climate of Tennessee on rich bottom lands, on deep clayey lands, and 

 even in the swampy lands where the wild growth should be exterminated 

 by plowing and the land thoroughly drained of its surplus water. It 

 yields a very superior quality of hay and a great deal of it. A Michigan 

 correspondent of the Western Rural mentions four tons of finely cured 

 hay as having been cut from one acre of land where the soil had been 

 deeply broken and the land was rich, moist and underdrained. It grows 

 to the height of three and a half feet on such land and much thicker than 

 red clover. It stands dry and cold weather better than any other clover, 

 is not easily winter killed and is a great favorite with those who have 

 tested it. In giving an estimate of its value the correspondent referred 

 to, says: 



"For soiling cows, horses, etc., when pastures fail, it is equal or supe- 

 rior to green corn, and attended with much less trouble in the gathering 

 and feeding. During the past year, I cut three crops from the same 

 ground, standing at the first cutting from two to three feet in height; last 

 cutting one foot in height, as thick as it could stand, small, delicate 

 stalks, with numerous branches, and perfectly glorified with a mass of 

 small peach-blow colored blossoms, filling the air with the most delight- 

 ful and exhilarating perfume, and swarming with bees every fair day. 

 The root is like that of red clover, but longer and more fibrous. The 

 haulm is small, tender and nutritious; when well cured, as it should be, in 

 full bloom, every part will be eaten with avidity by all kinds of stock. 



There is no plant known that will produce so much good honey, but- 

 ter, cheese, beef, mutton, wool and hay per acre, as this plant, not even 

 excepting corn. In using the latter for soiling, you get only the haulm, 

 while in the alsike you get the haulm and a large yield of honey; and if 

 the ground is prepared as well by deep tilth, manure, and plaster or other 

 fertilizers, as for corn, you will get as much by weight of the haulm. 



It bears feeding to an enormous degree. I think its fattening qualities 

 superior to the famous blue grass of Kentucky, and as it will flourish 

 well on such soils as I have designated, from the Gulf to Lake Superior, 

 farmers can easily divine its immense advantage to their pockets. Be- 

 sides, the expense of 'seeding down' every three or four years is saved. 

 It is a great renovator and disintegrator of hard, tenacious soils. Its long 

 tap roots and numerous fibres reach deep for its pabulum, and thus 

 loosen the soil and endure drought well. Some think there are two 

 kinds of this clover. I think not. The difference in growth, etc., in 

 diverse localities, is owing to the character of the soil. I never saw any 

 but the large kind on land once covered with beech, maple, oak, bass, 

 lever wood, etc., and I never saw any but the small kind on light, sandy 

 and gravelly soils. Also on pebbly soils with calcareous debris and good 

 tenacious subsoil it succeeds well." 



This clover is very prolific in the yield of seed. From three to eight 

 bushels are usually gathered per acre from a good stand. The yield will 

 average probably five bushels per acre. In its capacity for seeding land 

 this is equivalent to about fourteen bushels of red clover seed, as the 



