822 
SWEET CLOVER 
sweet clover. Doubtless, in the near future 
the acreage in this State will be greatly in¬ 
creased. 
THE LIMESTONE HILLS OF KENTUCKY. 
Sweet clover has had a wonderful 
development on the limestone hills of 
northern Kentucky, and almost the entire 
territory of the three counties, Pendleton, 
Bracken, and Robertson, are devoted to its 
culture. Fifty years ago tobacco was grown 
on much of the land; in Pendleton County 
this was the chief agricultural industry. In 
this hilly country the fertile, tho shallow, 
surface soil was gradually washed away by 
heavy rains, and the eroded and often 
gullied fields became bare and unproductive. 
Farm after farm was abandoned, and in 
many instances sold for taxes. More than 
one-third of the population of Pendleton 
County moved away. Then sweet clover 
was introduced, apparently at first by 
beekeepers, and on the many limestone 
knobs and hills it found a most congenial 
home and multiplied apace, spreading in 
every direction. At first it was destroyed 
as a noxious weed likely to render the land 
even less valuable, but it outran the farmers 
and overran the fields. Gradually the soil 
was renovated and again became produc¬ 
tive. The farmers began to return, Avliile a 
part of the abandoned farms were bought 
by new settlers. Dairy farming and the 
sale of sweet clover seed brought great 
prosperity and comfort. 
THE SWEET CLOVER BELT IN ALABAMA AND 
MISSISSIPPI. 
In this section sweet clover is found 
chiefly on the limestone hills and knolls of 
central and western Alabama and north¬ 
eastern Mississippi, where the soil is thin 
and poor in humus. No other crop suc¬ 
ceeds so well on this limestone soil, which 
in three years it deepens and improves so 
much that the land may be profitably used 
for general farming purposes. In addition 
to renovating the fields, it prevents the 
washing of hilly land and is excellent for 
fodder. In the black soil of the prairie 
section of these States alfalfa is also 
grown. While sweet clover grows spon¬ 
taneously in the limestone section, it has 
not extended to any great extent to the 
clay soil immediately adjoining; and so 
sharp is the line of demarkation that the 
abundance of sweet clover on the limestone 
soil and its absence from the clay soil a 
few feet away have often been remarked. 
Thousands of acres are in bloom in June, 
July, and the larger part of August. The 
larger part of this area has been occupied 
by beekeepers, but along the line between 
the two States for 100 miles north of 
Meriden there are many good locations. 
The apiaries range from 140 to 170 colo¬ 
nies, and frequently 200 and rarely 500 
colonies are found in a single yard. At 
Fitzpatrick there are 900 colonies in 11 
apiaries, which are devoted chiefly to the 
production of bees and queens. Eighty 
pounds per colony seems to be a fair av¬ 
erage, and there is a well-authenticated 
record of 100 pounds per colony being 
stored for 10 years in succession. No re¬ 
ports of sweet clover failing entirely have 
been published. The farms are highly im¬ 
proved and there are many evidences of 
general prosperity. While sweet clover is 
the main reliance of the beekeeper, other 
honey plants are tulip tree, black gum, 
locust, and white clover. 
IN THE WEST. 
Sweet clover has not received as much 
attention in the West as in the East, and 
in the arid sections will not grow without 
irrigation. In many States it is still re¬ 
garded largely as a weed, especially where 
irrigation is practiced, and the water car¬ 
ries the seed upon the alfalfa fields. In 
the Great Plains region it is extensively 
cultivated in the States of Oklahoma, Kan¬ 
sas, Nebraska, and the Dakotas. In Nebras¬ 
ka there are many scattered fields, but it is 
not planted as continuously as in Ken¬ 
tucky or Alabama. In the eastern part of 
the sandhill district it has greatly improved 
the quality of the soil and increased the 
yield of hay. Since its introduction there 
has been an increase both in the quantity 
and quality of the honey. In Kansas at 
Garden City there are about 3,000 acres of 
white sweet clover, the owner preferring it 
to alfalfa. At Augusta one farmer prefers 
the yellow variety since it blooms earlier 
by about two weeks, and the bloom lasts 
until the second crop of alfalfa is in full 
flower. 
In South and North Dakota the future 
