306 CLOVERS 



without a covering, the idea has gained currency 

 that the harder the soil, the better the plants will 

 grow, and the more surely will they be established 

 in the soil; but this view does not seem to be in 

 accord with the principles which usually govern 

 plant growth. It will, however, send its roots down 

 into hard subsoils so deeply that in certain seasons 

 the plants could not be dug up without the aid of 

 a pick. 



Place in the Rotation Since sweet clover 



seed is more commonly scattered in byplaces, or is 

 self-sown from plants that have run wild, it can 

 scarcely be said that it has ever been grown as a 

 regular crop and in a regular rotation. Nor is it 

 ever likely to become a factor in such a rotation un- 

 less its properties shall be so modified that it can 

 be grown acceptably as a pasture plant. In such 

 an event it would have the same place in the rota- 

 tion as other clovers; that is, it would naturally 

 follow a cultivated, that is, a cleaning crop, and pre- 

 cede some crop or a succession of crops that 

 would profit from the nitrogen and humus 

 which it had brought to the soil, and also 

 from the influence which the roots would ex- 

 ercise mechanically upon the same. But the 

 necessity for sowing it on clean ground would not 

 be so great as with the other clovers, since it has 

 greater power than these to overshadow weeds when 

 the two grow together. 



In the meantime, this plant will probably continue 

 to be grown as in the past; that is, if sown, it will 

 be sown : i. In byplaces to provide pasture for bees, 



