JAPAN CLOVER 289 



curing of medium red clover will also apply to 

 Japan clover. 



Successive crops of hay may be grown from year 

 to year on the same land, as already intimated. ( See 

 page 285. ) But where other crops are wanted on 

 the same farm, it would be wiser to grow these in 

 some sort of alternation or succession with the clo- 

 ver crops, so that the former could feed upon the 

 nitrogen brought to the land by the clover. 



Securing Seed. — ^Japan clover is ready for be- 

 ing harvested when the major portion of the seeds 

 are ripe. This is late in the season. The seed crop 

 is more easily gathered when grown on good land, 

 owing to the more upright habit of growth. The 

 self-rake reaper is probably the best implement for 

 "cutting, since it lays it off in loose sheaves, and on 

 well-prepared land it may be made to cut so low as 

 to gather the bulk of the seed. But it may also 

 be cut with the field mower as small white clover is 

 frequently cut. (Seepage 275.) Owing to the late- 

 ness of the season at which the seed matures, 

 careful and prompt attention may be necessary to. 

 secure the seed crop without loss, owing to the 

 moistness which characterizes the weather at that 

 season. 



When Japan clover is to be harvested for seed, 

 care should be taken to prevent weeds from ripening 

 their seeds in the same. With a view to prevent this, 

 it will be found helpful in many instances to run 

 the mower over the field some time after the clover 

 has begun to grow freely in the late spring or early 

 summer. Such clipping will also have the effect of 



