212 CLOVERS 



the aftermath, when the hay has been removed, is 

 very moderate. 



Securing Seed. — Alsike is a great producer of 

 seed. This arises in part from the relatively large 

 number of the heads on the plants, and in part from 

 the completeness of the pollinations, through the 

 action of the honey bee. These are relatively much 

 more numerous than the bumble bees, which alone 

 among bees, it has been claimed, aid in the pollina- 

 tion of medium red and mammoth clover. Although 

 the seeds are considerably less than half the size of 

 those of medium red clover, as much as 8 bushels 

 of seed have been secured from an acre. Frequently, 

 however, the yields are less than 2 bushels. Good 

 average yields may be stated as running from 3 to 

 4 bushels per acre. The best yields are usually 

 obtained from the first crop, but under favorable 

 conditions this clover may be cut for seed for two 

 and even three years in succession. Better yields 

 are usually obtained from crops of medium vigor 

 than from those of excessive rankness. The latter 

 lodge to such an extent as to reduce materially the 

 yields of the seed, since the heads do not fill well. 

 The cost of harvesting and threshing such crops is 

 also greater, relatively, than of those of medium 

 growth. To prevent such excessive growth in the 

 seed crop, pasturing for a time is frequently re- 

 sorted to. The grazing should begin reasonably 

 early in the season before growth anywhere becomes 

 so rank that the animals do not eat it in certain 

 portions of the field, whereas, at the same time, they 

 graze other portions of the field too closely. Rather 



