542 



Grass and Clover Seed Growing. 



[Sept., 



successfully grown upon a great diversity of soils, and there are 

 one or two districts which excel in the great luxuriance and 

 profusion of Wild White among the natural wild herbage. 

 Particular mention may be made of the south-western country, 

 including Cornwall, Devon and parts of Somerset and Dorset, 

 and the Valley of the River Clwyd in Denbighshire and 

 Flintshire. 



There is evidence to show that even among strains of 

 Wild White which are genuinely wild, acclimatisation to a given 

 district has some effect on the strain. At present, however, the 

 demand so far outweighs the supply that Wild White should be 

 grown wherever conditions allow, and in as large quantities as 

 possible ; but intending growers should note that the crop is a 

 very risky one, and that threshing and cleaning is an arduous 

 and expensive business, so that very small quantities, although 

 there may be a ready sale for them, may not always be profitable. 



Average crops of Wild White in England vary considerably 

 •according to locality and season. Genuine old pasture produces 

 up to three-quarters of a bushel (about 50 lb.) in a general way, 

 and an arable crop will give, perhaps, a bushel and a half. 

 Details as to cultivation and harvesting will be given in the* 

 Report referred to on p. 536. 



Crimson Clover. — The demand for Crimson Clover in this 

 country is small compared with the call for, say, Red or White, 

 and its use is mainly confined to the southern half of the 

 country. We produce at home considerably more seed than we 

 import, but, generally, no individual grower seeds a large area. 

 This is easily understood in view of the very risk nature of 

 the seed crop. The ripened heads hold water well, and the 

 attachment of the ripe pods is so brittle that shattering is very 

 easy, so that from one or both of these causes the whole of a 

 crop may readily be lost. It is common in the Crimson growing 

 districts (East Anglia) for farmers to grow a breadth each year, 

 using the major part of it as green fodder, and just seeding 

 sufficient for their own use next season. An average crop yields 

 about one sack of seed (about 2601b.) per acre. 



Lucerne. — English-grown Lucerne constitutes a small 

 fraction only of our annual Lucerne consumption. There seems 

 to be room for a good deal of experimental work in the produc- 

 tion of the seed in this country. One of the principal factors 

 bearing on permanence of Lucerne is longitude ; while some 



