THE CLOVERS 275 



able for feeding just after the rye is fed and before the 

 first cuttings of alfalfa. The principal use of crimson 

 clover is to build up the fertility of the soil, by the addition 

 of nitrogen and the increase of the supply of humus by 

 plowing it under for green manure. Crimson clover 

 takes up, on an average, about 140 pounds of nitrogen 

 per acre during the year, about one-third of which remains 

 in the roots. Being a large, quick growing plant, it adds 

 much organic matter to the soil when plowed under. It 

 is also an excellent cover crop for orchards and is used 

 extensively for this purpose. 



276. Cultural methods. Crimson clover may be 

 grown as a crop in a regular rotation or it may be used as 

 a catch crop. As a catch crop it is most often seeded in 

 summer with buckwheat or in corn at the time of the last 

 cultivation. Crimson clover grows rapidly, and if seeded 

 in midsummer, will make most of its growth before winter. 

 In this ease, if it is used as a green manure crop, it may be 

 plowed under early in the spring with good results, or it 

 may be allowed to stand until it starts to bloom before 

 plowing it under for a crop like corn or potatoes. Some 

 farmers harvest the crop of hay and plow under only the 

 clover stubble for corn or late potatoes. When used as 

 a catch crop, it is usually seeded in the corn at the last 

 cultivation and plowed under the next spring. The entire 

 crop may be plowed under or a crop of hay may first be 

 removed, and after plowing, corn may then be planted. 

 Thus corn may be grown for two successive years with a 

 legume sod to be plowed under for the second crop, and 

 sometimes for both crops. This is possible in a four-year 

 rotation of corn, corn, wheat, and red clover, using crimson 

 clover as a catch crop in the first corn crop. Crimson 

 clover may be seeded in the spring, but usually it is seeded 



