AGEICULTUEAL CLOVEES. 75 



to atmospheric influences than Eed Clover, and is of great import- 

 ance on land which cannot be depended on to grow Perennial 

 Eed Clover. In early spring it produces very little food, and 

 the plant is so dwarf that it is practically useless for cutting, so 

 that Alsike should take its place for a crop of hay. Still, 

 Perennial White Clover forms an essential constituent of every 

 good pasture. All cattle eat it with rehsh, but it is less useful for 

 the production of milk than of flesh, and is of special service in 

 fattening sheep. No -doubt the herbage is more palatable to 

 stock before the plant flowers than afterwards ; indeed, a pro- 

 fusion of flowers is no indication of an abundant bite. White 

 Clover is not suitable for culture alone, and its herbage is better 

 for cattle when mingled with grasses, especially with Perennial 

 Eye Grass. The Norfolk farmers largely use it for ewes and lambs, 

 but from difierence of climate the strong opinion they entertain in 

 its favour is not shared by practical men in the West of England. 



The fecundation of White Clover is aided by insects. From 

 ten flower heads visited by bees Darwin obtained ten times as 

 many seeds as from a corresponding number protected by gauze. 

 On a subsequent occasion he failed to obtain a single good seed 

 from twenty protected heads. 



Ammonia salts alone reduce the plant to insignificant pro- 

 portions. Nitrate of soda is httle better in its efiect. When other 

 varieties of grasses and clovers are present, these nitrogenous 

 manures result in a smaller growth of White Clover than when 

 the land is left unmanured. Mineral manures, potash especially, 

 with a small quantity of nitrate, considerably augment its growth, 

 as also do dressings of marl or vegetable ash. 



There is a Long-haulmed Dutch or Wild White Clover 

 which is prized for the heavy crop it produces, but much of the 

 seed offered under this name is unreliable, and the best of it will, 

 after a few years' growth in an unsuitable locahty, revert to the 

 original type. 



The botanical description and chemical analysis are given on 

 page 174, facing an illustration. 



