46 HINTS ON RAISING FARM CROPS 
tion for bacteria, methods of harvesting that 
were taken up in detail under alfalfa, apply to 
the clovers as well as to alfalfa. However, 
clover bacteria are usually more numerous in 
the soil, due to a previous crop than are alfalfa 
bacteria; it, therefore, is hardly ever an impor¬ 
tant practical consideration. The bacteria that 
work on the roots of alfalfa plants are not the 
same kind that work on the clover plants, and 
this means that a piece of land that has previ¬ 
ously grown clover successfully would not 
necessarily grow alfalfa, and vice versa. 
Another quite popular variety of clover is 
alsike clover. Alsike clover does especially 
well on low, wet lands, where other clovers 
fail to thrive. This plant has a longer, more 
slender stem than the other clovers, and, for 
this reason, it is quite liable to lodge if sown 
without some other crop, such as timothy to 
brace the stems. Unlike red clover, it produces 
but one cutting per year, but the quality of 
the hay is excellent. Alsike clover persists 
usually for three or four years, which is longer 
than the farmer can count on red clover stay¬ 
ing with him. 
White clover, previously mentioned in con¬ 
nection with Kentucky blue grass as a pasture 
plant, is quite common. It is a low creeping 
plant, the stem sending out roots to nourish 
the plant, and to increase its propagation. This 
plant is so common that it is seldom necessary 
to sow the seed, as it will soon grow from 
spreading through other agencies. One of the 
best features of white clover is that it grows 
throughout the entire season, which is an im- 
