74 CLOVERS 



for hay in time to follow it with millet or rape for 

 pasture, and under some conditions with fodder 

 corn. But when the stand of clover is good, it would 

 usually be profitable to utilize the clover for food 

 rather than the crops mentioned, since doing so 

 would involve but little labor and outlay. After the 

 second cutting for the season, winter rye may be 

 grown as a catch crop by growing it as a pasture 

 crop. 



Preparing the Soil. — Speaking in a general 

 way, it would be correct to say that it would not be 

 easy to get soil in too friable a condition for the 

 advantageous reception of medium red clover seed. 

 In other words, it does not often happen that soils 

 are in too fine tilth to sow seed upon them without 

 such fineness resulting in positive benefit to the 

 plants. The exceptions would be clays of fine tex- 

 ture in climates subject to rainfalls so heavy as to 

 produce impaction. On the other hand, the hazard 

 would be even greater to sow clover on these soils 

 when in a cloddy condition. The rootlets would not 

 then be able to penetrate the soil with sufficient ease 

 to find enough food and moisture to properly nourish 

 them. Some soils are naturally friable, and in these 

 a tilth sufficiently fine can be realized ordinarily 

 with but little labor. Other soils, as stiff clays, fre- 

 quently require much labor to bring them into the 

 condition required. Usually, however, if sufficient 

 time elapses between the plowing of the land and the 

 sowing of the seed, this work may be materially les- 

 sened by using the harrow and roller judiciously 

 soon after rainfall. 



