8 BULLETIN 625, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



The field notes taken in connection with this investigation indi- 

 cate that the factors contributing to the success or failure of clover 

 seeded with a nurse crop are within the control of the farmer. Most 

 of the failures were due to foul land or poor seed-bed preparation. 

 Special care should be taken to have the land free from wild oats 

 or other weeds. The nurse crop was often too thick. It dried 

 out the soil and killed the clover plants before the grain was har- 

 vested or left them in such a weakened condition that they were 

 killed by the dry weather which usually comes after harvest time. 

 Poor seed, late seeding, and the lack of proper soil inoculation 

 were elements which caused many failures. The best results are 

 obtained from seeding clover on soil which is inoculated with 

 the proper kind of nitrogen-gathering bacteria and which is rich in 

 organic matter. 



The nitrogen-gathering bacteria are so essential to success that 

 land which has never raised clover should be inoculated; that is, 

 supplied with nitrogen-gathering bacteria which will produce nodules 

 on the roots of the clover plant. 



There are two ways of doing this, the pure culture and the field 

 soil methods. Pure cultures may be secured in small quantities from 

 the United States Department of Agriculture or may be purchased 

 in large quantities from commercial dealers or in some States from 

 the agricultural college. Directions for using the cultures go with 

 them. The pure culture method of inoculation usually costs from 

 SO. 25 to $2 per acre, while the field-soil method costs practically 

 nothing and entails extra work only in getting inoculated soil. The 

 soil should be gathered from about clover plants which bear nodules 

 on their roots. The soil can then be dried and pulverized in the 

 shade. It may be stored away for months in a dark basement, and 

 for spring seeding it is a good plan to keep a sufficient quantity in 

 this manner to inoculate the amount of seed to be sown the following 

 spring. The seed should be placed on a tight floor and thoroughly 

 dampened with from 2 to 3 quarts of water per bushel. About 2 

 quarts of the pulverized soil is then sprinkled on the seed as it is 

 shoveled over in order to get a coating of dust on each seed. It 

 is then allowed to dry in the shade and kept from the sunlight until 

 used. If the soil to be used in inoculating clover seed is sandy, the 

 addition of one-fourth of a pound of glue per gallon of water will 

 cause the dirt to stick to the seed better. When the soil is gathered 

 in the spring and can not be dried for pulverizing it may be mixed 

 with water at the rate of about 2 quarts of dirt to 3 gallons of water. 

 The seed is then dampened at the rate of about 2 quarts of the 

 mixture per bushel and allowed to dry in the shade before sowing. 



