854 DIADELPHIA. DECANDRIA. Trirolicm. 
Canal between Limehouse and Bromley. Curtis. 
(Var. 4. T. repens hybridum. Huds. T. hybridum. With. Ed. 3 and 4, 
but not of Linnaeus. It is distinguished by its ascending and more 
branched stem. 
Moist pastures near Peckham and Battersea. Hudson. E.) 
White Trefoil. Dutch Clover. (Welsh: Meillionen wen y waun. 
Gaelic : Seamar , Seamt'ag. E.) (The Shamrock of Ireland. E.) Mea¬ 
dows and pastures. P. May—Sept.* 
(3) Calyx villous . 
T. subterra'neum. Heads hairy; three or four-flowered: involu- 
crum central, reflexed, rigid, stellate, inclosing the fruit. 
Curt. 128—( E.Bot . 1048. E.)— Riv. Tetr. 17.2, T. subterraneum — Ray. 
2— Barr. 881— H. Ox. ii. 14, row 1. 5. 
The white filaments, which put forth from the extremities of the fruit- 
stalks, resemble roots, but they do not penetrate the earth as supposed 
by Dillenius, but rise upwards, their ends expanding into little star-like 
points, and finally inclose the seed-vessels in a kind of prickly head. 
Curt. Stems (three to six inches long. E.) numerous, prostrate, disposed 
in a circle round the root. Stipulce in pairs, oval-spear-shaped. Leaf¬ 
stalks long, downy. Leajits sessile, inversely, heart-shaped, blunt, ob¬ 
scurely serrated, downy, especially underneath. Fruit-stalks from the 
bosom of the leaves, the lower shorter, the upper as long as the leaves, with 
three or four flowers. Floral-leaves none. Calyx cylindrical, cloven half 
way down; segments nearly equal, bristle-shaped, fringed with soft hairs. 
Blossom white; standard oval, claw long and narrow. Woodw. Tube 
* (Dutch Clover is so called from the seeds being usually imported from Holland; but 
as it is probable it might be raised as well in England, and the quantity required for 
annual sowing is prodigiously great, one house alone supplying forty or fifty tons, it must 
be highly desirable that such an article of commerce should be provided at home. E.) 
Horses, cows, and goats eat it. Sheep are not fond of it. Swine refuse it. Linn. (This 
species, being remarkably sensible to atmospheric changes, alfords a good rustic hygrometer. 
The leaves are always relaxed and flaccid in dry weather, but erect in moist or rainy. E.) 
Wherever this plant abounds spontaneously, it is considered as an indication of the good¬ 
ness of the soil. The richness of meadows and pastures is naturally owing to their 
abounding principally with the Trefoils, and others of the same class, with a due mixture 
of the more acceptable grasses. Pulteney’s View. (On the soil of our moors, (in the north 
of England) being turned up for the first time, and lime applied, White Clover appears in 
abundance; a circumstance in no way satisfactorily accounted for, but which is known to 
take place in wastes both in Britain and North America. See Pursh’s Flora Americana, 
ii. 477. Winch. In such situations the seed might have lain dormant a very great length 
of time, till stimulated into vegetation by the application of lime. Ashes have in the same 
manner been found suddenly to augment the growth of clover before scarcely observ¬ 
able, to the great surprize of farmers. Dutch Clover creeps on the ground and forms 
a fine bottom. It has not the property of blowing cattle in so great a degree as other 
sorts. Salisbury. Top dressings and frequent use of the roller encourage its growth 
wonderfully. Pure Clover may be very hurtful to sheep. Hort. Gram. It is pecu¬ 
liarly subject to depredation from the small weevil, Apion Jflavipes , which deposits its eggs 
in the heads of this species only. Kirby. The Welsh Apostle Maenwyn, better known as 
St.Patrick, landing near Wicklow, A.D. 433, on a mission from Pope Celestine, met with 
much opposition to his doctrine, till plucking a Trefoil, and thereby illustrating the 
mystery of the Trinity in Unity, his Pagan hearers are said to have become converts, 
and were baptized. Hence originated the custom of wearing the Shamrock , (a bunch 
of Trefoil) on the anniversary of that Saint; and hence has it become the national 
emblem of Ireland as is the Rose that of England, or the Thistle of Scotland. E.) 
