igo6.] White and Alsike Clover Seed. 



13 



Alsike clover is truly perennial in character and useful for 

 both temporary and permanent pasture. It attains its maximum 

 yield on moist loams and clays, and is favoured rather than 

 otherwise by wet seasons. Of all clovers it is the only one suit- 

 able for irrigation. Owing to its surface-rooting habit the yield 

 on light dry land is correspondingly meagre ; on land suitable to 

 its development it is more permanent than red clover, and 

 superior to white clover by its upstanding leafy growth, which 

 enhances both the quantity and quality of the hay crop. In 

 pasture land the tread of cattle affects its growth but slightly, 

 if at all, and after depasturimg, new shoots quickly spring into 

 growth. It stands heat and cold, and on clover-sick land, which 



is unfavourable to a healthy crop, it is indispensable as a substi- 

 tute for red clover. 



The seeds of Alsike (Fig. 3) contain in most instances the 

 impurities common to white clover, perhaps with the striking 

 exception that while dodder is but seldom found in white clover, 

 it is not unusual in Alsike. Samples of Alsike containing 

 dodder very frequently exhibit a peculiar sickly greenish hue, 

 and this leads one to think that the development of the seed has 

 been interfered with by the ravages of the parasite which has 

 robbed the plant of its food. At all events, lightish green, imma- 

 ture samples of Alsike should be closely scrutinized for dodder 

 seeds. 



The vitality of seeds and their value and power to grow and 

 produce a healthy and robust crop are largely dependent upon 



