CRIMSON CLOVER 247 



Crimson clover may be made to tollow any crop, 

 but it is seldom necessary to have it follow another 

 leguminous crop which has brought nitrogen to the 

 soil. Nor is it usually sown after a grass crop which 

 has brought humus to the land. It is frequently 

 sown after small cereal grain crops that have been 

 harvested. It may be made to follow any of these. 

 Sometimes it is sown in standing corn. But oftener 

 than anywhere else probably, it is sown in orchards 

 and on soils from which early potatoes and garden 

 vegetables have been removed. 



It is peculiarly fitted for being grown in orchards. 

 In these it may be grown from year to year. It 

 may be thus grown not only to gather nitrogen for 

 the trees, but to make them more clean than they 

 would otherwise be \^'hen the fruit is being gathered, 

 to protect the roots of the trees in winter and to aid 

 in the retention of moisture when plowed under. 

 But this plant may also, with peculiar fitness, be 

 made to precede late garden crops. It may be plowed 

 under sufficiently early to admit of this, and when so 

 buried it aids in making a fine seed-bed, since the 

 roots promote friability in the land. When grown 

 under what may be termed strictly farm conditions, 

 it usually precedes a cultivated crop, as potatoes, 

 corn, or one of the sorghums. It is equally suitable 

 in fitting the soil for the growth of vine crops, such 

 as melons, squashes and pumpkins. 



But in some localities this crop may be grown so 

 as to break down the lines of old-time rotations, 

 since in some instances it may be successfully grown 

 from year to year for several years without change. 



