DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 
by either plowing or spading, before the seed is planted. 
The surest way is to sprout the seed before planting, as 
it is very slow to germinate when put into the ground 
without being sprouted, sometimes taking a whole sea¬ 
son to come up. To sprout the seed, put into a vessel 
and cover with warm water, not hot. Keep the vessel 
jn a warm place, and change the water once a day. Let 
the seed soak about five or six days, after which pour off 
the water and cover the vessel with a damp cloth. Keep 
in a warm room and stir the seed occasionally. In about 
one week more they will begin to sprout, and arc ready 
for planting. There are about ten thousand (10,000) ! 
seeds in a pound, and it is fair to presume one-half of 
them will grow, or that a pound will produce five thou¬ 
sand (5,000) plants if properly managed. The seed 
should be sown in April or May, with twelve good seeds | 
to the foot, in drills twenty inches apart. They should 
be kept free from weeds, as the young plants are very' I 
tender and delicate until they get from three to five 
inches high. They can be set out in permanent hedges 
the following spring in rows, placing them six inches 
apart in the row 7 , but should be cut back to within an 
inch of the ground before they are set out; and to make 
a thick hedge, it will be necessary to cut back the first 
three years’ growth, leaving only about eight inches of 
the season’s growth. This system must be pursued 
every season until the hedge is of the desired height and 
form. Under proper treatment, a good hedge that will 
turn all kinds of stock, can be grown from seed in from 
three to four years. 
65 
an indispensable ingredient of all mixed grasses. Sow 
in spring or fall ; and when no other grasses are used, a* 
the rate of eight to ten pounds per acre, more being re¬ 
quired on old, stiff soils, than on new and lighter ones 
Sixty pounds per bushel. 
Alsike, or Swedish Clover, ( Trifolium hybrid a), 
—This valuable variety 7 is comparatively new, but if 
fast gaining great popularity. It is the most hardy of 
al* the varieties, perennial, and absolutely refuses to 
winter kill ; is alike capable of resisting the extremes of 
drought and wet. The roots are fibrous, the heads glob- 
ular, resembling more the white than the red clover 
with flesh-colored heads. It is very sweet and fragrant, 
being much liked by the Italian bees. On rich, moist 
land it yields an enormous quantity of hay or pastur- 
age, and may' be mowed several times in a season. It is 
excellent for sowing on hill-sides or sloping lands that 
are liable to wash and gully 7 , as it has a great mass of 
strong, fibrous roots which take firm, deep, and 
wide-spread hold into the soil, and prevent washing; 
farmers can hardly raise a better hay or forage crop. 
Sow in spring or fall, at the rate of six pounds per acre, 
where used alone. Sixty pounds per busheL 
Crimson Trefoil Clover 
Crimson Trefoil, or Scarlet Italian Clover, ( Tri- 
folium i near 71 at uni ).—This is an annual variety, in 
common use in Italy and the south of France, for feed¬ 
ing green. Indeed, it may be said the stock in those 
countries is largely sustained during the summer months 
by this and a few 7 other sorts. The yield in fodder is 
immense, and after cutting, it at once commences grow¬ 
ing again, and continues till severe cold, freezing 
CLOVER SEEDS. 
The soils best edapted to Clover are tenacious or stiff 
loams. It is a fertilizer, as its long, powerful tap roots 
loosen the soil, admit air, and when the roots decay, 
add largely to the black mass of earth. It helps destroy 
annual weeds by its luxuriant foliage, and by shading 
the surface of the soil, increases its fertility. Clover 
seed is sown in spring or fall, though there is a growing 
sentiment that the spring is a better season to sow it, 
especially in the Eastern, Western and Middle States, 
on account of its liability to freeze out during winter. It 
is often sown upon the late snows of March or April, 
and soon finds its way down to the soil, where, aided by 
the moisture of early spring, it quickly germinates, and 
rapidly shoots up its leaf stalks. 
Mammoth, or Large Red Clover, Trifoliuynpra- 
tense).—' This variety is the best for plowing under for 
manure. It grows five or 
six feet highland its stalks 
are so coarse and large that 
stock will eat only the 
leaves. By its judicious 
use, lands which have been 
exhausted can be reclaimed, 
and unexhausted lands pre¬ 
served. Green manuring 
has rarely 7 or never failed of 
producing satisfactory re¬ 
sults. Sow at the rate of 
about eight pounds per 
acre. Sixty pounds per 
bushel. 
Medium Red, or June 
Clover, ('/'rifo/iJi77t pra- 
tofiso). —This is by far the 
most important of all the 
varieties for the practical 
.. .. purposes of agriculture. It 
Alsike Clover. is grown for hay 7 ^ -pas¬ 
ture, and for milch cows it is better than timothy, while 
it improves the lands on which it grows. It has become 
White Dutch Clover. 
