112 THE CLOVERS— YELLOW OR TREFOIL. 



useful for certain soils in which Eed Clover would not 

 succeed. It should, however, be confined to such soils, 

 even though it is true that in regard to nutritive matter 

 it takes a higher place than Eed Clover. It is more 

 adapted for grazing purposes than Eed Clover is, but is 

 not so well suited for meadowing, as its stems lie close 

 to the ground and escape the scythe. Its roots do not 

 go deep, but confine themselves to the top spit of the 

 soil, therefore the nature of the subsoil is not of much 

 importance where this plant is concerned. Although 

 possessing a slightly bitter taste, it seems to be eaten 

 with relish by cattle, and it is said that it imparts a 

 nutty flavour and a rich yellow colour to the butter. 

 Nevertheless the balance of evidence is against employ- 

 ing it in pastures on good land, particularly as — owing 

 to its overshadowing and partly creeping habit — it 

 stifles better plants than itself. 



Manures. — A dressing of fresh manure does not serve 

 Trefoil, but an application of certain artificial fertilisers, 

 particularly those with a large proportion of potash or 

 of phosphoric acid, causes a surprising development, 

 even in cases where the plant was previously struggling 

 for existence. 



The Seed comes to hand generally more free from 

 impurities than that of any other sort. This can be 

 accounted for partly on the ground that the Trefoil 

 plant smothers all other vegetation, and its seeds can 

 therefore be gathered pure, — and partly because it is so 

 cheap that it is not worth while adulterating it. Tre- 

 foil seed possesses great vitality, and will grow a fair 

 percentage even though several years old. 



