1909.] Trials of Wild White Clover. 



717 



disappeared, in common with much of the young clovers 

 throughout Northumberland last spring. This disappearance 

 of clover is, unfortunately, far too common in Northumber- 

 land and the North of England, and is probably not due to 

 clover sickness only, but largely to cultivated clovers not 

 being hardy enough to stand the rigorous springs of the 

 North. The experiments already quoted indicate that where 

 these clovers are liable to disappear, the inclusion of a 

 small amount (say 2 lb. per acre) of wild white clover may 

 be very useful, even in a seeds' mixture for one year. 



It may be predicted with confidence that the inclusion of 

 wild white clover seed in a seeds' mixture for laying down 

 land to hay or pasture, especially on strong clay soils, will 

 produce a sward practically immediately, and if this be so 

 the series of years hitherto necessary to accomplish this will 

 to a large extent be bridged over. 



A remarkable result is the rapidity with which basic slag 

 has acted where this clover has been sown at Cockle Park. 

 On Lord Londonderry's estate at Wynyard (County 

 Durham), where one of the poorest pastures on a cold boulder 

 clay soil has been drained, dressed with 10 cwt. per acre of 

 high quality slag in November, 1908, and sown with 12 lb. 

 wild white clover seed per acre in April, 1909, there is now 

 a capital sward of white clover where the soil and subsoil 

 left on the surface after draining has been sufficient to give 

 a seed-bed to the clover seeds. Where, however, there is 

 much benty herbage and no loose soil the sown clover has 

 not established itself, although basic slag has greatly 

 developed the clovers and allied plants naturally present in 

 the pasture. 



Wild white clover seed is now offered by several seed 

 merchants and is produced from meadows in the South of 

 England, where white clover indigenous to the soil has been 

 developed by basic slag or other manures which encourage 

 this clover. It is difficult to collect such seed in the North 

 of England, where the climate is not favourable to the har- 

 vesting of clover seed for market purposes. 



It is desirable that wild red clover seed should also be 

 collected and placed on the market by seed merchants, as 

 there is every likelihood that this plant will prove equally 



