260 FIELD CROP PRODUCTION 



thawing of the ground will sufficiently cover it, or the 

 seeding may be done later, when the soil is dry enough, 

 and covered with a light harrow. If the latter method 

 is followed, the seeding should not be delayed until too 

 late in the spring, or else the wheat will become too large 

 to permit of the proper covering of the clover seed. Some 

 growers object to covering the seed with the harrow, 

 contending that by this practice the wheat will be injured, 

 but various experiments have proven that, instead of 

 being injured, more frequently the yield is increased, due 

 probably to the cultivation which assists in conserving 

 moisture. When seeded with a spring grain like oats or 

 spring barley, the application is made along with the 

 grain as in the fall seeding with wheat. Rye is the most 

 favorable nurse crop, because it does not shade the ground 

 as much as wheat or oats, and it is less likely to lodge and 

 smother the young clover plants later in the season. Oats 

 produce more shade than either wheat or barley, and are 

 not regarded as a favorable crop with which to sow clover. 

 However, if a short-strawed early variety is grown, little 

 trouble may be expected. 



261. Sometimes clover is sowed in the corn at the time 

 of the last cultivation. The chances for a successful 

 stand by this method are doubtful, unless the soil is in 

 almost perfect physical condition and free from weeds, 

 and unless the seeding is followed by frequent rains. On 

 fertile soils in sections with a plentiful rainfall this method 

 is quite successful. When seeded with a small grain 

 crop, the clover may be pastured after the removal of 

 the grain, during late summer and early fall, without 

 injury to the crop which will make hay or pasture the 

 following summer. Clover is sometimes seeded in com- 

 bination with timothy or other grasses for hay or pasture. 



