HARBIN LESPEDEZA CLOVER 
A 
Plant 
of 
Harbin 
Lespe¬ 
deza 
The New 
Soil Building Legume 
For 
Acid and Worn Out Soils 
Have you an acre or more of sour, 
worn out, acid soil on your farm or some 
barren spots in your pasture? Then 
plant Salzer’s Harbin Lespedeza! Let it 
give you valuable pasture, build up this 
acid, poor soil, and help prevent soil 
erosion, all at one and the same time! 
Harbin Lespedeza has been giving most 
remarkable results and bids fair to re¬ 
trieve millions of acres of land in the 
northern section of the country, that are now 
unfit for cultivation unless fertilized and 
limed heavily, and which are being rapidly 
eroded or washed away. 
Harbin Lespedeza is primarily a poor land 
crop, and should not be considered a com¬ 
petitor of other clovers or alfalfa, as these 
latter will make a better and taller growth 
on sweet, fertile soils. However, for any 
worn out soil, poor soil, acid and sour soil 
that you may have, in Harbin Lespedeza one 
finds a valuable legume that grows and pro¬ 
duces while building up the soil! 
Valuable for Pasture—Drouth Resistant 
Many pastures become brown and bare in summer, as 
even the layman has learned, and it is right at this time 
that Harbin Lespedeza makes its best growth! It is drouth 
resistant to a remarkable degree and promises to fill a big 
gap in Wisconsin pastures, and other pastures throughout 
the northern tier of states. 
Growth Habits 
The plants are of spreading growth, they grow about 
eight to fourteen inches high, and are very leafy and thick, 
making excellent pasture. In color, they are a beautiful 
dark green. Since Harbin Lespedeza’s great value lies in 
its ability to furnish pasture on acid soil, and since it is 
of rather spreading and dwarf growth, it has not been 
considered much for hay. Its great merit lies in its fur¬ 
nishing pasture during the heat of summer, thriving on 
poor, acid soil and enduring droughts. 
No Lime Required 
Save the cost of lime and commercial fertilizer in build¬ 
ing up any sour, worn out soil you may have on your farm! 
Harbin Lespedeza works wonders in bringing land back 
to fertility without the application of any fertilizer. It 
not only will improve the soil but prevents erosion to a 
remarkable degree by growing on bare spots and in ditches. 
Pasturing Harbin Lespedeza 
Planted in a warm, firm seed bed, with enoug'h moisture 
to get it started, Harbin Lespedeza starts quickly and pro¬ 
gresses rapidly by early summer. Grazing may begin by 
the middle of June and continued through to frost in the 
fall, depending upon the size of growth and the rate of its 
use. As it is a legume, pasture the cattle moderately at 
first, to avoid danger of bloating, just like any rich clover. 
Entirely Distinct 
Harbin Lespedeza is en¬ 
tirely different and entirely 
distinct from Korean Lespe¬ 
deza, and must not be con¬ 
fused with it. Whereas Ko¬ 
rean Lespedeza has been of 
great benefit throughout the 
South, it did not mature in 
the North and we have never 
offered it to our customers. 
On the other h a n d, Harbin 
Lespedeza has matured per¬ 
fectly here at La Crosse and 
we believe there will be a 
place for it on almost every 
farm in the entire state of 
AVisconsin and similar lati¬ 
tudes. It has even matured 
north of the Canadian border. 
History of 
Harbin Lespedeza 
In October, 1932, the U. S. De¬ 
partment of Agriculture issued a 
ne.ws item in regard to Lespedeza, 
strain No. 65280, stating that: 
“A new, hardy, drouth-resistant, early 
strain of Korean Lespedeza introduced 
from Manchuria, and under trial by the 
U. S. Department of Agriculture prom¬ 
ises to fill a big gap in New Euglaud and 
other northern pastures and to push the 
American Lespedeza belt 200 miles or 
more north, forage specialists of the de¬ 
partment say. 
“Many New England pastures become 
brown and bare in summer and the new Lespedeza 
makes its best growth then. Although ordinary 
Korean Lespedeza does not mature north of the 
southern boundary of Michigan, the new strain 
has matured at Middlebury, Vt., and at Augusta, 
Mich. It grows readily in sour soil, such as many 
New England pastures have.” 
Since October, 1932, strain No. 65280 has 
unofficially been named Harbin Lespedeza. It was dis¬ 
covered growing wild in a Russian Cemetery at Harbin, 
Manchuria, by P. H. Dorsett, veteran plant explorer of the 
department. 
Summing Up 
Harbin Lespedeza gives you pasturage on your sour 
and worn out soil. It thrives on acid soil. It saves you 
the expense of liming your acid soil. It is drouth re¬ 
sistant. It gives you pasture during the heat of summer. 
Or. if you let the plant mature, you can sell a heavy seed 
crop and in that case, enough seed will shatter out, so 
that it will reseed itself. Otherwise, it must be seeded 
every year as it is an annual. It is early, maturing a seed 
crop in about 70 days. Plant some of it this spring and 
we believe you will never be without it. 
Culture 
A thin seeding is desirable, so each individual plant 
may develop to its full size. Harbin Lespedeza is not dif¬ 
ficult to grow. It is usually sown alone, planting about 1 
to 1*4 pounds seed per acre. Have the seed bed warm, 
firm and compact, and plant about % inch deep in rows 
18 to 20 inches apart with a garden drill or hand planter. 
Some farmers plant in rows 36 inches apart so they may 
cultivate with a regular corn cultivator. The seeds are 
soft and germinate rapidly when placed in warm, moist 
soil. Although it will stand some freezes, we advise 
planting when danger from hard frosts seems unlikely— 
from about the fore part or middle of May, up to June 15 
or even a little later. 
Inoculation is very important, as it enables the plant 
to obtain part of its nitrogen from the air, increasing 
growth and building up the soil more rapidly. Harvest 
when the plants turn brown and the seeds hull out in 
the hand. Seeds are dark purple when ripe. Thresh with 
a regular clover huller, thresh¬ 
ing machine or combine. 
The Chicago Tribune Ex¬ 
perimental Farm Planted 
Harbin Lespedeza with 
Successful Results. 
A Field of Salzer’s Harbin Lespedeza Clover 
149 Am enclosing a picture of your Fodder Corn. Some of the stalks were 9Ys 
feet high and they averaged 3 ears to a stalk.—John Daley, Ontonagon, Mich. 
Price 
The seed supply is scarce 
and it is likely that the de¬ 
mand will exceed the supply 
•for several years to come. 
Only a light seeding is re¬ 
quired and one is receiving 
valuable pasturage and other 
benefits from acid and poor 
soil, without the use of costly 
fertilizers. Our seed was 
grown in La Crosse County. 
An acre or part of an acre 
should prove a real invest¬ 
ment for you this spring! 
4245—Oz., 2Sc; 2 oz., 40c; 
Va. lb,, 70e; V» lb., $1.25; lb., 
$2,00; 1 y 3 lbs., $2 jS5 5 2 lbs., 
$3.05; 5 lbs., $8.75. postpaid 
to 4th zone. Not prepaid: 10 
lbs., $15.05; 25 lbs., $3S.75. 
(Inoculation for 1 lb. up to 5 
lbs. Hnrbin Lespedeza, 20e; 
for 10 lbs. up to 30 lbs., 35c, 
postpaid.) 
John A.Salzer Seed Co 
LACROSSE. WISCONSIN 
