for which, as yet, there are no an- 
swers. We only know that it does 
exceedingly well on rich black soil 
of Pellett Gardens. A few reports 
have been received which indicate that 
it does poorly on sandy soils. Whether 
this may be true of all light soils re- 
mains to be determined. 
No seed is available as all seed has 
been sent to the various experiment 
stations which have shown an inter- 
est. Others who wish to try the plant 
must be content with root divisions 
until such time as more seed is 
harvested. The plant increases so 
rapidly by root division that one can 
start with a few plants and by re- 
planting each year'soon have as large 
an area as he wishes. This method 
has the added advantage of insuring 
an even stand, assuming of course 
that it proves adaptable to the soil on 
which it is planted. 
Our start with clover was from 
about a dozen seeds planted on April 
22, 1941. Four or five plants came 
up in the short row and by 1943 there 
were several hundred when the merit 
of the plant was recognized. In 1944 
several rows were set in the open 
field and by the following spring there 
was a wonderful little field of clover 
when it came into bloom. The bees 
worked the flowers vigorously and 
several pounds of seed were harvested. 
The flowering time is the entire 
month of June and the first half of 
July and there is every indication of 
a good yield of nectar for the bees. 
Instead of a deep corolla such as the 
red clover this one is very shallow so 
that all nectar can readily be secured 
by the bees. The flower is similar 
to alsike in color and appearance al- 
though slightly larger with the head 
more elongated. In 1945 our plot 
set seed very heavily but in 1946 with 
less favorable weather conditions 
little was secured. It is very apparent 
that the plant depends upon bees for 
pollination. In 1945 with the bees 
swarming over the plot many heads 
contained a seed for. nearly every 
floret. When the bees deserted the 
field little seed was set. 
The field is a mass of flowers at 
blooming time and a very pretty sight. 
During much of the year only the 
basil leaves are present but in late 
May the flowering stems appear and 
they reach a height of about two to 
three feet with several flowers for 
each stem. Indications are that only 
one crop of hay could be cut per year 
although we have not yet cut a crop 
and removed it to see whether a 
second bloom would occur. 
460 
The habit of growth is such that one 
would expect the plant to remain 
indefinitely when once established. 
It is of special promise for waterways 
in erosion control, for roadsides and 
other places where a soil binding 
plant is essential. Until the experi- 
ment stations have had time to grow it 
along with other plants and to deter- 
mine its place in the crop rotation no 
recommendations can be made. On 
our grounds it looks promising for 
either meadow or pasture but it has 
not yet been put to test for such 
purposes. Of one thing we can be 
sure, it is a good source of bee 
pasture. If it is used generally in 
the soil conservation program the 
beekeeper will find a _ substantial 
addition to his nectar supply. 
It appears to be entirely winter 
hardy and not subject to injury from 
heaving which proves disastrous to 
the clovers in common use. The leaves 
are similar in appearance to red clover * 
although some are very much larger. 
In localities where it succeeds it 
offers much promise of stabilizing the 
bee pasture, through planting the 
roadsides. Its habit jis such that it 
will not be easily killed by cutting and 
apparently when the roads are worked 
and the soil disturbed it will grow 
again from the roots which are 
covered by machinery. 
It is highly desirable that this new 
clover be tried under a wide variety 
of conditions to determine its value 
in the North and in the South, to 
learn whether it will succeed on wet 
soils or dry soils, on acid soils or 
sweet soils and whether it will stand 
competition with weeds and with 
grasses. In our test plots it has had 
the advantage of good soil with no 
plant competition. 
As stated in the former article, the 
advantages of this clover for the bee- 
keeper are: 1) its apparent per- 
manence when once established. 2) its 
abundant flowers with nectar readily 
available to the bees. 3) its habit of 
spreading from the root which permits 
an increase in the number of plants 
even though it is not permitted to 
form seed. 4) the extensive root sys- 
tem which serves to prevent erosian 
and makes it attractive for use in soil 
conservation. 
The short life of sweet clover and 
alsike are the worst drawback to their 
use and add to the uncertainty of bee 
pasture from year to year. This clover 
has been found to branch at varying 
depths below the surface and since 
any portion separated from the main 
stem continues to grow little damage 
is caused by heaving. A long lived 
clover is certainly very desirable for 
the beekeeper. As one soil con- 
servation official said, ‘‘Won’t it be 
fine if we can find a clover that is 
hard to kill?” 

AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL 
