I). M. FERRY <C* CO’S DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE\ 
65 
seed soak about five or six days, after which pour off 
the water and cover the vessel with a cloth. Keep in a 
warm room and stir the seed occasionally. In about one 
week more they will begin to sprout, and are ready for 
planting. A pound of seed, if properly managed, will 
produce five thousand plants. 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 tender and delicate 
until they are 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, 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. 
- 4 - 
CLOVER SEEDS, 
There are no plants so valuable for fertilizers as the 
Clovers. They have the faculty of absorbing nitrogen 
from the air, and also of rendering available much of 
the inert plant food of the soil. Their long, powerful 
tap roots penetrate to a great depth, loosen the soil, 
admit air, and by their decay add immensely to the fer¬ 
tility of the soil. The seed may be sown in fall or 
spring; which is the best season will depend upon local 
climate and method of culture, but in the majority of 
cases, in the Eastern, Middle and Western States, the 
best results will come from sowing in the spring, and it 
is often sown on the late snows of April. In any case, 
it should be evenly distributed on a mellow, well pre¬ 
pared soil. Plaster will increase the growth remarkably, 
and should be sown broadcast the season following the 
seeding. 
Mammoth, or Large Red (Trifolium pratensc ). — 
It grows five or six feet high, but its stalks are so coarse 
and large that stock will eat only the leaves, but by its 
judicious use, lands which have been exhausted can be 
reclaimed, as it will grow where the common clover will 
fail. Sow at the rate of about eight pounds per acre. 
Sixty pounds per bushel. 
Medium Red, or June (Trifolium /raterise '). — 
This is by far the most important of all varieties for the 
practical purposes of agriculture. Sow in spring or fall; 
and when no other grasses are used, at the rate of eight 
to ten pounds per acre, more being required on old, stiff 
soils, than on new and lighter ones. Sixty pounds per 
bushel. 
Alsike, or Swedish (Trifolium hybridutri ). — This 
valuable variety is fast gaining great popularity. It is 
the most hardy of all the clovers; perennial. On rich, 
moist soils it yields an enormous quantity of hay or 
pasture, and may be cut several times in a season, but 
its greatest value is for sowing with other clovers and 
grasses, as it forms a thick bottom, and greatly increases 
the yield of hay, and cattle prefer it to any other forage. 
The heads are globular, very sweet and fragrant, and 
much liked by bees, which obtain a large amount of 
honey from them. Sow in spring or fall, at the rate of 
six pounds per acre, where used alone. Sixty pounds 
per bushel. 
Crimson Trefoil, or Scarlet Italian (Trifolium 
incar nat urn ). — This is an annual variety, in common 
use in Italy and the south of France for feeding green. 
The yield in fodder is immense, and, after cutting, it at 
once commences growing aghin, and continues until 
severe, cold, freezing weather. It grows about one foot 
high; the roots are nearly black; leaves long; blossoms 
long, pointed and of a very deep red, or carmine color. 
Makes good hay. Sow in April or May, eight pounds 
of seed per acre. 
Crimson Trefoil. 
White Dutch (Trifolium repens ). — A small creep¬ 
ing, spreading, perennial variety, valuable for pasture 
and for lawns. It accommodates itself to a variety of 
soils, but prefers moist ground. In conjunction with 
blue grdss, it forms the most nutritious food for sheep 
or cows. Sow in spring, at the rate of six pounds per 
acre; or when used with other grasses, half that amount 
will be sufficient. 
Lucerne, or Alfalfa (Medicago sativa ). — Where 
this succeeds, it is the most valuable of all the clovers. 
It is more difficult to secure a good stand, as it requires a 
very fine, mellow soil, and some protection the first year, 
but when once established, it will produce a profitable 
crop for from five to twelve years. It yields a prodig¬ 
ious amount of green fodder for cattle, and should be 
cut when first commencing to bloom, when it pushes out 
fresh shoots, and the aftergrowth is something wonder¬ 
ful. In the driest and most sultry weather, when every 
blade of grass withers, Lucerne is as fresh and green as 
in spring, because the roots go down to the moisture in 
the ground. Although such a prodigious yielder, it docs 
not exhaust the soil, but rather improves it. It should 
not be sown on compact, clay soils, even with a light 
subsoil. 
One of our customers writes us from Utah as follows. 
“ I have had years of experience, both here and in Cali¬ 
fornia. We always sow broadcast, twenty-five pounds 
per acre; the thicker it is sown the finer your hay will 
be. If it is planted thin, it stools out, and the stalks are 
thick, and not relished by stock. It requires no hoeing 
whatever when sown as above. We cut four crops a 
year, and its yield is enormous. The fall is the best 
time for sowing here, as it will stand the winter and do 
much better the following season than when sown in 
the spring. The above is my experience for fifteen 
years.” 
In some sections it is sown in the spring, in drills, 
twelve inches apart, and hoed until it covers the surface. 
This process requires about eight pounds of seed per 
acre. 
Bokhara (Melilotus alba ) Sivcet Ciaoer —This is 
exceedingly valuable as pasturage for bees It is occa¬ 
sionally found growing wild by the roadside in company 
with the more common sweet clover (Melilotus officin¬ 
alis ), and may be distinguished from it by its white 
flowers and less coarse and more leafy stems. 
