83 CLOVERS 



drill, it will in some instances be buried too deeply. 

 In other instances it is not so. 



The depth to which the seed of medium and other 

 clovers ought to be buried should vary with soil and 

 climatic conditions, and with the season of sowing. 

 The more stiff the soil, the more moist the climate, 

 and the earlier that the seed is sown, the less the 

 covering required, and vice versa. As has been 

 shown, under certain conditions (see page 22), early 

 sown clover seed does not require any covering arti- 

 ficially given, and sometimes when sown later, a rea- 

 sonably copious rain will provide sufficient covering, 

 providing it falls quite soon after the sowing of the 

 seed. But in certain of the soft, open, spongy soils 

 of the prairie, it may sometimes be buried to the 

 depth of at least 3 inches, with apparent benefit. 

 Lower than 5 or 6 inches in any soil, clover seed 

 will not germinate till brought nearer the surface. 

 On all soils that lift with the wind, the seed should, 

 as a rule, be buried deeply. Ordinarily, from half 

 an inch to an inch, or an approximation to these dis- 

 tances, is considered a proper depth to bury clover 

 seed. 



Some authorities recommend sowing medium and 

 other clovers without any nurse crop. The advan- 

 tages claimed are that more or less of a crop may be 

 obtained the same season, and that a stand of clover 

 is more certain when the seed is sown thus. The 

 first claim is correct in the main. In some localities 

 favored with long seasons for growth, as in certain 

 areas of Missouri, for instance, good yields may be 

 obtained from sowing the seed thus. This has 



