THE CLOVERS 259 



returned to the field in the form of manure, a considerable 

 amount of this element, which may then be utilized in 

 the growing of other crops, is added to the soil. It is 

 especially valuable for this purpose because, being a 

 biennial or a short-lived perennial, it is well adapted to 

 a short rotation. 



259. Cultural methods. Red clover is usually seeded 

 with a nurse crop, the reason for this being that if seeded 

 alone it cannot be expected to produce a full crop the first 

 year. Thus the grower would lose the use of the land for 

 the season. However, if it is seeded with a nurse crop, 

 the clover makes its first year's growth along with the 

 nurse crop without decreasing the yield of either of them. 

 The choice of a nurse crop will depend largely upon the 

 crops that are grown regularly in the rotation. Most 

 often the clover is seeded with the small grain crop, which 

 may be wheat, oats, rye, or barley, the choice depending 

 upon the grower's rotation practice. When wheat enters 

 the rotation, clover is usually seeded with it. When 

 oats, rye, or barley replace wheat in the rotation, it is 

 seeded with them. When seeded with wheat or rye, the 

 clover may be applied either in the fall with the wheat, or 

 it may be sown in the early .spring. When seeded in the 

 fall, the clover is usually spread by the seeding attachment 

 in connection with the grain drill, which may be adjusted 

 to scatter the seed either in front of or behind the drill 

 hoes. When seeding in the fall, best results are usually 

 obtained if the seeding is done early. At the Ohio and 

 Indiana stations seedings made later than early September 

 were usually unsuccessful. 



260. When seeding is delayed until spring, the seed 

 may be applied with a hand seeder in late February or 

 early March, in which case the alternate freezing and 



