1908. 
ALSIKE CLOVER COMPARED WITH RED. 
Its Uses and Advantages. 
Alsike clover, where it is known and tried, is mak¬ 
ing much progress in this country. It is a valuable 
supplement to the old stand-by, Red clover, growing 
in places where the Red fails, and supplementing it 
where both do well. People as a general rule do not 
know about Alsike clover, its value, its adaptations, 
habits of growth, methods of sowing, harvesting, cur¬ 
ing, etc. Under most conditions it is true that the 
Red clover is the better of the two, and furnishes 
more feed, but this is not always true. Alsike has its 
place. Any meadow or pasture will be benefited by 
an addition of say 1J4 to two pounds Alsike seed to 
the acre, when Red clover, Timothy, fescue, or other 
plants arc depended upon for the hay crop or for the 
pasture grasses. 
Alsike clover closely resembles White clover in 
shape of flower, leaves, smoothness of parts, and 
fresh green color. In habit of growth it more closely 
resembles the substantial Red clover. It is really a 
“go-between” of White and Red clover, its medium 
height, pinkish blossoms, weight and size of seeds, and 
shallow root spread marking it as a happy medium. 
In fact Alsike was once thought to be a hybrid be¬ 
tween the common Red clover plant and the White, 
it resembled both so well. However this is not so. 
In nature of growth this Alsike clover is more bunchy 
than Red, less likely to branch so freely, and more 
of a creeper, the latter named characteristic enabling 
it to cover the ground well. Its roots arc ordinarily 
well covered with tubercles or nodules, this indicat¬ 
ing its value as a nitrogen gatherer, and as a renova¬ 
tor for old and worn lands. The seed is the first 
crop and not the second as in Red, and one may ex¬ 
pect from l'/i to three bushels on poor or ordinary 
land and from three to five or six bushels on good 
land, suited to its growth. It is not at all out of the 
ordinary to get as high as seven to eight and even 
nine to 10 bushels per acre from the thrashing. The 
seeds shell and hull out easier in the Alsike than in 
Red clover, hence greater care must be taken in cut¬ 
ting, raking, and curing the product which is to be 
thrashed for seed. On this account the thrashing of 
Alsike is easier than the hulling of the Red, and faster. 
For pasture and for hay Alsike offers many induce¬ 
ments. In swampy, low, wet pastures where Red 
clover fails to stand, and where it dies out even 
though a catch is secured, Alsike fills in the niche of 
need, being excellent under these conditions. Alsike 
is not so easily killed out as is the Red clover from 
seasonal changes, being on the whole slightly more 
persistent. This is partially so because Alsike clover 
is a short perennial, in other words it reproduces 
from both the seed and the roots, and will last four 
and five years, while the Red 
clover will kill, and naturally die 
out after two years. This is a dis 
tinct advantage for the Alsike. In 
pastures where Red clover does 
well it is a good plan to sow some 
Alsike, say as much as a fifth to a 
sixth as much as Red at the seed¬ 
ing. This done one may rest as¬ 
sured that the Alsike will give a 
good account of itself, and do its 
share in making the pasture what 
it ought to be. The low, wet, 
swampy spots where the Red fails 
to get a hold will be filled in with 
Alsike, the land thoroughly util¬ 
ized; a mixture relished by all 
kinds of live stock will be secured; 
and a more even stand of grass all 
around obtained. White clover is 
good in the pasture, as it is more 
lasting than the Red, but whether EMFE 
or not one should include it in the 
seeding is an open question, sub¬ 
ject to solution only upon the knowledge of local 
conditions. I he White in most localities generally 
works its way in anyhow, depending upon the sea¬ 
son’s rains, a moderately wet season finding it 
in the pastures in abundance, while a droughty one 
either finds it almost altogether wanting or scanty in 
growth. Straight Alsike has some objections, in that 
the plants are somewhat bitter, and not so relished 
by stock as Red or White pasture. The mixed pas¬ 
ture in which Alsike has its place is free from this 
objection. 
For wet land pasture a mixture of three pounds 
Alsike, three pounds Red-top, and three pounds Tim¬ 
othy per acre is to be recommended. In good up¬ 
land country three pounds Alsike, three pounds Red, 
three pounds Blue glass, and three pounds Timothy 
makes a good pasture. The Alsike being more or 
less drought and moisture resistant will fill in and 
“THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
grow where the others will fail to stand, and thus aid 
greatly in securing a cover for the land, utilizing all 
space, which is highly desirable. For meadow seed¬ 
ing, the object being field-cured hay, four pounds 
Red clover, three pounds Alsike and eight pounds of 
Timothy will be excellent. I might add here that 
Alsike is highly prized by bee keepers, who claim it 
an excellent and abundant honey maker. 
Now the question arises, “How shall I seed this 
Alsike clover?” For one who has handled, sown, cut 
and harvested Red clover the answer is simple, in 
that the Alsike is handled in practically the same way. 
Sow the quantities advised, broadcast, preferably with 
a nurse crop such as oats, barley, or wheat, and har¬ 
row lightly in. Spring sowing will prove best year in 
and year out, and early Spring is advisable. Some 
like to sow without a nurse crop, and the practice 
is all right, but it is better to use the nurse crop. 
If idea! moisture conditions are present after secd- 
IlOW QUACK GRASS GROWS. Kus. 360. 
ing Alsike will give a good account of itself when 
sown any time during the growing season. Early 
Spring is best because the conditions necessary for 
the germination of the seed are more likely to be 
favorable at that time. In sowing Alsike with Tim¬ 
othy, which is an admirable hay mixture, about five 
pounds of Alsike and 10 pounds of Timothy make a 
good seeding. Timothy aids the Alsike, that is keeps 
it off the ground free from lodging, facilitates curing, 
and harvesting. It is advisable always to have some 
Timothy in the Alsike meadow, as it helps the Alsike 
to stand up. Timothy and Alsike also cure well to¬ 
gether, making a mixed hay of excellent quality. For 
uplands where Red clover does well and straight 
clover hay is wanted it is best by all means to use 
the Red clover straight. Red will outyield the Alsike 
where both grow well. Alsike, as previously men¬ 
tioned, is seldom sown alone excepting for seed pur¬ 
poses. When the seed will yield from five to eight 
bushels per acre, and sell for $10 a bushel the 
straight crop is a paying proposition, when sown 
‘done. john m. eward. 
<OR AND EMPRESS DAFFODILS IN GRASS. 
SEE RURALISMS, PAGE 768. 
“SAFE DELIVERY OF PLANTS.” 
Every year there is more or less complaint about the 
condition in which live plants are received when shipped 
by express. It is fair that all sides should be given a 
hearing-—so we print the following. 
I wish to endeavor to make clear what the effect 
would be upon the purchaser of plants if the prin¬ 
ciple of compelling the grower to guarantee safe de¬ 
livery of plants should be generally adopted. I raised 
this year nearly four million vegetable plants, and 
could have sold six million if I had had them. I 
expect to raise six or seven million next year. I raise 
and ship vegetable plants exclusively. I have three 
sons, two of them large enough to work in the 
plants, and I expect to endeavor to get up to raising 
and shipping 10 to 15 millions annually. After seven 
years’ experience in the shipping of plants we sec the 
matter about as follows: Orders for plants divide 
763 
themselves into three groups about as follows: Or¬ 
ders for plants about 400 or 500 miles distant or less; 
orders from about 500 to 1000 miles distant; orders 
from 1000 miles distant or more. All growers have 
to guarantee the express charges on plants to the 
company, and if the plants are refused we have to 
pay the charges. Orders from 400 or 500 miles or 
nearer wc generally fill without question. The pro¬ 
portion of shipments that spoil and arc refused is 
not large enough in this zone to take into account. 
Orders from 1,000 miles or more wc almost always 
return at once, unless the parties ordering them send 
money to prepay the express charges. The propor¬ 
tion of shipments that arrive in bad order beyond 
1000 miles is so large that there is not sufficient profit 
in the commercial plant business to guarantee the ex¬ 
press charges. Some customers who cannot get 
plants nearer and cannot raise them themselves take 
the chance on the shipment, and order from this dis¬ 
tance. If the express connections arc good and the 
weather is cool the plants will arrive in good condi¬ 
tion, but if there is delay or the weather turns warm 
and humid the plants will heat. I have customers in 
Georgia and Florida who order year after year. If 
the first shipment spoils they sometimes order a sec¬ 
ond time. It is the middle section that I wish to 
speak of. There arc in the eastern part of the United 
States perhaps a dozen or 20 men or more who grow 
and ship vegetable plants. They sell at a pretty uni¬ 
form price for the same grade of plants. Most pur¬ 
chasers can buy plants quite near at home, with little 
or no chance of having the plants spoil by shipment, 
hut many purchasers finding that they can get better 
plants order them from a distance. From my ex¬ 
perience almost all purchasers understand that they 
are taking the risk of loss in shipping plants any con¬ 
siderable distance. If growers were to be made re¬ 
sponsible for loss in transit we could not fill orders 
beyond the safe zone without first writing, after the 
order was received, and getting a release from re¬ 
sponsibility. This would delay the filling of all such 
orders perhaps a week, as a large majority of cus¬ 
tomers send their orders so that they may be filled the 
fore part of the week, in order not to have the plants 
lie over Sunday on the road. If wc wrote back for 
instructions it would delay the filling of almost all 
orders coming from this middle zone until the fore 
part of the next week, and would work hardship to 
the purchaser of plants. Celery has about 100 to 120 
days to grow. The loss of seven days in setting the 
plants would mean a loss of 12 to 14 per cent of the 
crop. A delay of a week in setting 20,000 plants 
would mean probably a loss of $100 or more, which 
would be several times the cost of the plants. To 
establish the principle that the plant grower should 
be responsible for loss in transit would, I believe 
cause a general loss to those who 
order from outside of the safe 
zone of shipment. 
A PLANT GROWER. 
A CROP OF GRAIN. 
I paid $5 for thrashing my grain 
to-day, besides $2 to men for help 
and 60 cents for coal. It set me 
to thinking how much that feed 
cost me. It was worth $6.25 to 
plow the five acres of ground, and 
I used on the land $7 worth of 
commercial fertilizer. Ten bushels 
of choice seed oats cost me $10 and 
$1 for freight, and one and one- 
half bushel of peas l mixed with 
them cost $1.50. The binding cost 
$4.50 and the twine $1. Three 
days’ work fitting the ground and 
drawing in the grain count up 
$9. I hen I used a neighbor’s drill 
to put in the seed, and to pay 
him for the use of it, I worked a day with my team, 
making $3 more on the expense side, and a total of 
$50.85. I have, as the result of my labor, lt5 bushels 
of grain, with a better feeding value than oats alone; 
and the straw is worth $8. I his feed would bring 
60 cents a bushel on the market. These oats were a 
good sort that l have had success with before, and 
were bought from a reliable seedsman. The crop was 
above the average in the neighborhood. As the farm 
is my own, one or more such indifferent crops do not 
seriously affect me. A good living is always assured. 
But renters have a hard row to hoe. If every crop 
that was well put in and well cared for would prove 
profitable, then the farm would he more like the 
fairyland pictured by some magazines. p. 
Cape Vincent, N. Y. 
R. N.-Y. —From our experience we would save 
about $13 of that expense and cut the oats and peas 
for hay. We can get more food from such hay fed to 
farm stock—except poultry—than when the crop is 
left to mature and the grain thrashed out. 
MG. 361. 
