FORAGE CROPS FOR THE SAND-HILL SECTION OF NEBRASKA. 15 



tity there is no further trouble. They seem to relish it afterwards 

 and will select it in preference to native and even tame grass hay. 



SEEDING. 



Although numerous tests have been conducted with sweet clover, 

 there has not been sufficient experience with it as yet to warrant defi- 

 nite recommendations in regard to the proper time for seeding. So 

 far the best results have been obtained by sowing it early in the 

 spring on a well-prepared seed bed, which should be firmed as in the 

 case of clover and alfalfa. In other sections, seeding it in grain, 

 either oats, barley, or spring wheat, has been successful and perhaps 

 could be followed out in this region wherever the moisture is fairly 

 abundant. Usually it is simply sown broadcast on the field after 

 the grain has been drilled in, and it is then allowed to be covered by 

 the weather. On sandy land, however, it is preferable to give the 

 soil a light harrowing after sowing the sweet clover so that the seed 

 will be covered. On the drier soils it is best to seed it without a 

 grain crop. 



Most sweet clover seed germinates very poorly ; hence it is advisable 

 to sow 25 pounds per acre. This low germination is not caused en- 

 tirely by poor seed, but also by the large quantity of " hard seed " 

 usually present in commercial sweet clover seed. In some cases the 

 proportion of hard seed has run as high as 90 per cent, and this 

 means that a large part of the quantity sown will lie dormant in the 

 soil and germinate the following year. 



A tabulation of the results obtained by the Seed Laboratory of the 

 Bureau of Plant Industry in germination tests of sweet clover seed 

 was made in order to determine whether the source of the seed has 

 any effect on the germination or on the percentage of the hard seed 

 it contains. This tabulation showed that in 22 samples of seed 

 from the southern United States the average germination was 14.3 

 per cent and the average percentage of hard seed, 60.13. In 22 

 samples of seed from the northern United States, the average 

 germination was 36.6 per cent and the average percentage of hard 

 seed was 43.22. In the 28 samples of imported seed the average 

 germination was 56.48 per cent and the average percentage of hard 

 seed, 12.33. This would seem to indicate that the imported sweet 

 clover seed is the most reliable, and that seed from the southern 

 United States is likely to contain more hard seed and germinate less 

 than that from any other section. These results confirm the observa- 

 tions which have been made on field tests of these samples. 



TIME TO CUT FOR HAY. 



Sweet clover should be cut for hay early, before its stems have be- 

 come large and woody. The proper time to cut seems to be just as 



[Cir. 80] 



