CLOVERS AND OTHER LEGUMES 261 



200. How the Seed should be planted. — The seed 

 bed in which clover is to be sown should be disced and 

 harrowed repeatedly until the surface soil is finely pul- 

 verized. It is a serious mistake to sow clover seed in 

 cornstalk ground, which has been disced but once, or 

 even twice, if it has been left in a rough and cloddy- 

 condition. 



It is apparent that the seed should not only be planted 

 at a proper depth but at a uniform depth as well. This 

 can be accompUshed only by means of the drill. As in the 

 case of other seeds, clover seed should be planted as 

 shallow as the conditions which govern germination will 

 permit. 



201. Seed Selection and Analysis. — Before we take 

 up a more or less detailed study of how to grow the various 

 legumes, let us consider briefly the importance of seed 

 selection and analysis. 



Comparatively few of the many noxious weeds which 

 infest our grain fields, meadows and pastures, are natives 

 of America. Instead they have come into our country 

 for the most part in agricultural seeds, as explained in 

 Section 37. 



State and national laws require certain standards of 

 purity, that is, it is required that not more than a given 

 percentage of certain specified weed seeds may be present 

 in agricultural seeds sold within the state. 



Just how pure a sample of seeds is in this respect may 

 be determined in a very simple manner, the process being 

 known as seed analysis. This work may be done at home. 

 It avoids the necessity of sending seed away to be ex- 

 amined, and often detects impurities which might not 

 otherwise be brought to the attention of farmers or of 

 the authorities. 



