RECAPITULATION. 
89 
and leaves, and the small amount of silica in the clover plant, that it decays with 
more rapidity and more perfectly than the grasses, and hence its effects are more 
immediate than those of other green manures, excepting sea weeds. We have, then, 
in the large stems and roots of clover, a large amount of food for other plants, and 
which is so combined and constituted that it is soon ready for their uses after it is 
covered with earth. 
In many instances, the crop of clover is too large to be ploughed in to advantage. 
In this case, farmers are in the habit of feeding it to their cattle. The proper course 
to be pursued is indicated by the crop itself. If it is small, the whole ought to be 
given to the succeeding crop : on the contrary, if large, it is useful to feed it down 
wholly or in part. 
[Agricultural Report — Vol. ii.] 
12 
