CORN GROWTH AND FEEDING 43 



varieties of weed seeds are often found in clover seed, 

 as smartweed, stampweed, quack grass and pigeon 

 grass. All of these weeds are detrimental to the land, 

 and clover seed infested with them should not be used 

 under any circumstances. Such seed should be burned 

 or discarded if cleaning is impossible and the land put 

 in some other crop if good seed cannot be obtained. 



The best rate of seeding is about ten to twelve 

 pounds of clover seed per acre. Less seed will give a 

 poor, thin stand, and more is likely to result in small, 

 spindling plants, besides being much more expensive. 

 Poor seed should be seeded more thickly than good 

 seed, but quality cannot be made up by the increase 

 of quantity. Poor, weak seed will result in poor, small 

 plants, no matter how rich and fertile the soil. The 

 rate of seeding also varies with the soil. On poor soils 

 the seeding should be heavier than on rich, fertile soils. 



In seeding poor spots in the field or poor soils of 

 any kind, it is well to apply a good dressing of well- 

 rotted barnyard manure before preparing the seedbed. 

 It is a good plan to seed as early as possible in order 

 to give the clover plants all the time possible for 

 growth before the hot, dry weather begins. In this 

 case the plants will have matured sufficiently to be 

 more able to withstand the unfavorable weather. It 

 will not kill out so' easily when the oat crop or what- 

 ever crop is used is removed at harvest time. 



Other nurse crops are said to be more favorable 

 for clover seeding than oats. Rye, for instance, grows 

 more thinly on the ground, allows the sun to strike the 

 clover plants more freely and give them a greater 

 opportunity for growth. Wheat is also near the head 

 of the list as a valuable nurse crop and can be used in 

 all wheat growing sections. 



In harvesting the nurse crop, cut as high as possi- 

 ble. The stubs will protect the young clover plants 



