Book: Clovers and How to Grow Them

T >> Thomas Shaw >> Clovers and How to Grow Them




=Soils.=--The most suitable soil for alsike clover is a moist clay loam,
not too friable nor too dense, and moist and deep. A goodly impregnation
of lime in the same is favorable to maximum production. Abundant
moisture conduces to the same end. This plant will, however, produce
good crops, and in a moist season, excellent crops, on the stiffest
clays, whether white or red, after a good stand has once been secured,
providing hard pan is not found near the surface, but in dry seasons it
is not easy to secure a stand on such soils. The plants send their
fibrous roots down into the soil in all directions, and in this way
render it much more friable when it is broken up.

Next in adaptation, probably, come slough soils, even though covered
with humus to a considerable depth, providing that clay lies under the
humus. Enormous crops of hay or pasture can be grown on such soils, but
the crops of seed are not usually so large as on the moist clays
referred to above. On these also the hay is much more liable to lodge,
unless supported by some kind of grass growing along with it.

After slough soils come those that have been deposited by the action of
water, as in river beds and on lake bottoms, when the waters have
subsided, providing the clay element so necessary to the successful
growth of this clover is plentifully present. In some instances the very
best crops of alsike can be grown on such lands, but in many other
instances these deposit soils have in them too much sand to produce
these.

Good crops can be grown on sandy loam soils, if well stored with
vegetable matter, and at the same time fairly well impregnated with
clay, but if one or both of these elements is lacking, adaptation in
these soils will be correspondingly reduced.

On the average upland prairie soil, alsike clover does not grow so
vigorously as the medium red. The less of density that these possess
under ordinary conditions, the less suitable are they to the needs of
this plant, but when ample moisture is present, good crops may be grown
on much of the soil in prairie areas.

Soils lowest in adaptation to the growth of alsike include infertile
sands and gravels, and the vegetable soils of the prairie so light that
when cultivated they lift more or less with the wind. On such soils the
growth of alsike is short and feeble, and any lack of moisture renders
it increasingly so.

This plant not only requires much moisture to insure the most vigorous
growth, but it is also able to thrive under conditions of soil
saturation such as some of the useful forage plants could not endure.
When the weather is cool, it may be covered with shallow water for
several days in succession without apparent injury. The possession of
this characteristic makes it possible to grow alsike clover in sloughs
not yet drained, but which are dry certain portions of the year.

=Place in the Rotation.=--Much of what has been said about the place for
medium red clover in the rotation may also apply to alsike clover. (See
page 70.) On upland soils its place in the rotation will be very similar
to that of the other variety, but with the difference that the rotations
will be longer, because of the perennial habit of growth in the alsike.
It will be best sown, therefore, on clean land which has produced a crop
that has been cultivated the previous year. Consequently, it may follow
such crops as corn, potatoes, field roots and beans in the North, and
the same crops in the South, with the addition of cow peas, soy beans
and the non-saccharine sorghums. But it may be sown after other crops
when necessary, especially when it is to be pastured. One chief
objection to sowing it thus for hay is that the hay will be less free
from weeds.

On upland this crop may be followed with any kind of a crop requiring
much nitrogen. No crops can be made to follow it with more advantage,
however, than corn and the sorghums, or potatoes. Rape will feed
ravenously on the overturned sod, and wheat and the other small grains
will also feed similarly.

On low lands, especially when they partake of the nature of sloughs, the
rotation is different. In some instances alsike may follow the natural
grasses produced by the slough in the drained or undrained form, as the
case may be, and may be made to supersede them without breaking the
land, but more commonly on these it is sown after the natural sod has
been broken and has decayed somewhat, by growing on it some such crop as
rape or flax. On these lands it is usually grown in long rotations for
pasture and also for hay, and when the sod is again plowed, it is
followed by corn, potatoes, rape, and grains grown for soiling uses,
since such land has naturally high adaptation for these. Flax also is a
favorite crop to sow in such situations after alsike clover.

=Preparing the Soil.=--The preparation of the land for alsike clover on
ordinary soils is the same as for medium red clover. (See page 74.)
Usually, that degree of fineness in the pulverization which best
prepares the soil for the nurse crop with which alsike clover is sown,
will also best prepare it for the alsike. But there may be some
instances, as in strong clays, when a fine pulverization that would
suffice for the needs of the nurse crop would be advantageous to the
alsike. This finer pulverization can only be secured by the judicious
use of the roller and the harrow. In loose-lying soils, more especially
in areas where the precipitation in winter comes in the form of snow,
and, therefore, does not wash the land as it does when it falls as rain,
if the land on which alsike is to be sown is plowed in the fall, and
only harrowed in the spring, or cultivated and harrowed when preparing
it, the moisture will be better conserved than if it were plowed in the
spring. When thus managed, strong clays in the area under consideration
will usually have a much finer pulverization than can be obtained from
spring plowing. When the preceding crop has been given clean
cultivation, to plow land subsequently before sowing to alsike would
bring up many weed seeds to the surface, where they would at once begin
to grow. On slough lands, where water saturation is present during a
portion of the year, even to the extent of appearing for a short
interval over more or less of the surface, the seed may be sown without
any previous preparation of the land, and in some instances
successfully. In other instances it will fail should the following
summer prove adverse. The stand is rendered much more certain in such
instances by first burning off the grass, sowing the seed upon it,
covering it more or less with the harrow and running the mower over the
ground, say, twice in the season, to let in sunlight to the young
plants. The grass thus mown may be left as a mulch. Pasturing, but not
too early in the season, will in some instances give results equally
good. In such situations the sowing should be done, and also the
harrowing, before the frost has left the ground, except for a short
distance from the surface, or the horses may sink too deeply when doing
the work. The success is dependent in no small degree on the denseness
or want of denseness of the root growth of the grass plants already
covering the soil. The more dense these are, the less easy is it to
obtain a stand, and the more peaty the soil immediately underneath the
surface, the greater is the danger that the young plants will perish in
a time of drought.

When alsike seed is sown on drained sloughs, the aim should be to reduce
the excess of coarse vegetable matter, if present, and to secure a
smooth surface, such as will facilitate the easy mowing of the crop.
More especially should this be the aim if the alsike is sown to produce
hay. This can be most easily and speedily done by growing on it some
reducing crop, as flax or rape, and then smoothing the surface by
implements best suited to such work, as, for instance, some form of plow
leveler.

=Sowing.=--The time at which alsike clover may best be sown is the same
as that for sowing the medium red variety; that is to say, the early
spring. (See page 75.) Since it is hardier than the medium red variety,
the danger is less that spring frosts will destroy the plants after they
begin to grow. As with medium red clover, it may also be sown at sundry
times, from the opening of spring until the late summer when the
opportunity offers, and when the conditions for growth are favorable.
For instance, there may be seasons when alsike clover, and, indeed, any
kind of clover, will succeed along with a catch crop sown for pasture or
to provide soiling food. But it should not be sown in the autumn unless
where the winters are mild, or the young plants will not survive their
rigors.

Alsike clover is more commonly sown with a nurse crop. As with medium
red, the crops with which it may be best sown are the small cereal
grains, as winter rye, barley, wheat and oats, favorable in the order
named. But it may also be sown with flax, with rape, and with grain
crops that are to be cut for soiling or to be grazed down.

The method of sowing alsike clover is virtually the same as that
followed in sowing medium red clover (see page 78); that is to say, it
may be sown by hand machines, with a grass-seeder attachment to the
grain drill, or with the ordinary tubes of the grain drill and along
with the grain. The seed is very small, and, consequently, may not admit
of being buried so deeply as medium red clover, but in the open soils of
the prairie it will sometimes succeed as well sown along with the grain
as when buried less deeply, but in many soils the roller will provide a
sufficient covering. Especially is this true in climates that are moist.

Alsike clover has special adaptation for being sown along with timothy
and red top on slough soils, and soils made up of rich deposit. It
matures about the same time as these grasses. They support the slender
stems of the alsike, and in doing so prevent lodging more or less. This
greatly improves the quality of the hay. The more numerous the plants in
those mixtures, the finer also will be the quality of the hay. If but
two varieties are wanted in the mixture, ordinarily these two should be
alsike clover and timothy. Both furnish hay of excellent quality; hence,
when the proportion of alsike is not too large, such hay sells readily
to dairymen who have to purchase fodder.

Although this clover does not mature until three to four weeks later
than the medium red, nevertheless, it may be well to add the latter to
the timothy and alsike clover mixture. When these are thus sown in due
balance, the first cutting will be mainly red clover, after which there
will be but little of the red present. But the medium red clover will
add much to the pasture after the first cutting for hay. Subsequently,
the hay crop will usually consist of alsike and timothy. Alsike clover
along with timothy may also be sown with mammoth clover, since the two
mature about the same time. But the mammoth variety will monopolize the
ground while the first hay crop is being produced. The advantage from
sowing the seed thus lies chiefly in prolonging the period of clover
production along with timothy grown chiefly for hay. It is not wise,
usually, to sow alsike clover alone for hay, owing to its tendency to
lodge. In the South it is frequently sown with red top and orchard
grass, especially the latter. It fills in the spaces between the plants
in the orchard grass, and in so doing adds much to the hay or to the
pasture.

There may be conditions in which it would be advisable to sow alsike
clover alone, as when it is wanted for seed, and subsequently for
pasture. But ordinarily to provide pasture, it is better to sow it along
with some other grass or clover, or with a number of these. It greatly
improves a timothy pasture in the upland or in the valley. It has also
been used with much advantage in strengthening alfalfa pastures for
horses in winter in certain of the Rocky Mountain valleys. It would
probably be correct to say that with the area of adaptation for this
plant, no kind of pasture can be grown on reasonably moist land that
would not be benefited by having alsike in it. Among the clovers it has,
relatively, high adaptation for permanent pastures, because of its
enduring character.

The seeds of alsike clover are small. They are considered to be less
than half the size of those of medium red clover, consequently, the
amounts of seed are relatively much less. When alsike clover is sown
alone and for seed, from 3 to 5 pounds of seed should suffice per acre,
according to the soil conditions. Four pounds are frequently sown. In
the various mixtures given above, the amounts of seed will vary with
local and other conditions, but the following amounts may be given as
averages: Alsike and timothy, 4 and 6 pounds, respectively, per acre;
alsike, timothy and red top, 3, 4 and 3 pounds; alsike, timothy and red
clover, 3, 4 and 3 pounds; alsike, timothy and mammoth clover, 3, 4 and
3 pounds. When sown with other grasses for pasture, it would not be
possible to give the amounts to sow that would best meet the needs of
the grower under all conditions. But it may be said that 1 to 2 pounds
of alsike seed per acre, sown under almost any circumstances in moist
soils and within the alsike clover area, will be a good investment when
laying down pastures of any considerable permanency.

This clover is also sometimes added to the seed sown in making lawns,
more especially on farms where the lawn cannot be given that close
attention which is necessary to keep it in the most presentable form.
Because of its permanence, it is helpful in giving variety to the sward,
and when mown but two or three times in the season, as is frequently the
case with such lawns, it provides considerable bloom in the same, which
is very attractive. The amount of seed to use on these lawns may vary to
suit the desires of the owner. It is not usual, however, to sow in these
more than maximum amounts for field crops. At the rate of 3 to 4 pounds
of seed per acre should be ample.

=Pasturing.=--Alsike clover has by some authorities been assigned to a
high place as a pasture plant. For such a use it has no little merit,
but in the judgment of the author it is not nearly equal to medium red
clover as a pasture plant, under average conditions, since it does not
grow so well, relatively, on average upland soils, and because the
aftermath is usually light, after the crop has been cut for hay or for
seed. Nor is it thought to be relished quite as highly by stock as the
medium red clover. Nevertheless, domestic animals eat it freely, and
under suitable conditions it will furnish for them a considerable amount
of grazing. This feature has been finely illustrated by an experiment in
grazing conducted at the Agricultural Experiment Station of Montana, on
irrigated land, at Bozeman, in the Gallatin valley. Full particulars
relating to this unique experiment are given in Bulletin No. 31, issued
by the afore-mentioned station. In the summer of 1900, 18 cattle, one
and two years old, were pastured on 5.04 acres of alsike clover for 102
days, beginning with June 9th. The increase in the weight obtained from
the pasture in the time stated was 4560 pounds. This gain was valued at
the very moderate price of 4 cents per pound live weight; hence, the net
return per acre for the pasture for the season was $36.19. It would
scarcely be possible under any conditions, howsoever favorable, to
obtain such results without irrigation.

Ordinarily, the results from pasturing alsike clover will be more
satisfactory when one or two other plants are grown along with it, as,
for instance, medium red clover or medium red clover and orchard grass,
since both of these plants tend to prolong the period of grazing. In
slough lands, red top and timothy add considerably to the value of the
grazing. When grazing alsike clover, much more pasture will be obtained
if it can be allowed to make a good start in the spring, and if it is
then kept grazed so short that the plants do not come into flower. Such
treatment tends very much to prolong the period of grazing for the
season. Should the grazing be so uneven as to admit of certain areas in
the pasture pushing on into the flower stage, the mower may sometimes be
profitably used to prevent such a result. Weeds should also be kept from
going to seed in the pastures by using the mower or the scythe, or both.
Nor should the fact be lost sight of that the tendency to produce bloat
in alsike clover is much the same as in medium red clover.

=Harvesting for Hay.=--Alsike clover is ready to harvest for hay when
the plants are just beginning to pass beyond the meridian of full bloom.
Some of the first blossoms will then have turned brown and some of the
smaller ones will still be deepening their tints, since the season of
bloom is about the same as for timothy, and since alsike for hay is more
commonly grown with timothy than with any other grass, both may be cut
when at their best, especially when intended for cows and sheep. But
when the hay is intended for horses, it should stand a few days longer
than the stage indicated above, in order to have the timothy in the
condition best suited to feeding horses. But the alsike, in the
meantime, would lose something in digestibility.

If grown alone for hay, the process of harvesting would be much the same
as in harvesting medium red clover. (See page 95.) But since the stems
of alsike clover are finer than those of the medium red, less time will
suffice for curing it. It will also cure more quickly along with some
other grass than if alone, since it does not then lie so closely in the
winrow or in the cock. Grasses, as a rule, cure more quickly than
clovers, and this also has a bearing on hastening curing in clover when
the two are grown together; and also in lessening the degree of the
fermentation after the crop has been stored. Ordinarily, when the
weather is bright, alsike clover along with timothy may be cut in the
forenoon, tedded once or twice soon after cutting, raked into small
winrows the same evening and stored away the following afternoon. When
thus managed, the hay loader may be used in lifting the hay from the
winrows. Alsike clover growing alone could not be cured thus quickly.
Nor would it be wise in showery weather to try and cure the crop without
putting it into cocks, whether grown alone or with some other crop. When
properly cured, the heads retain much of their bloom and the stems much
of their greenness.

The yields of hay vary greatly with the soil. On dry, sandy uplands the
yields of cured hay may not exceed 1/2 ton, while on rich loam soils it
may exceed 3 tons. Ordinarily, on good soils a combined crop of alsike
clover should yield from 1-1/2 to 2 tons per acre of very excellent hay.
Some authorities speak of getting two cuttings per year, but this is not
usual. Under quite favorable conditions it would be possible to get two
cuttings for soiling uses, providing the first was taken when the plants
were coming into bloom. Usually, the growth of the aftermath, when the
hay has been removed, is very moderate.

=Securing Seed.=--Alsike is a great producer of seed. This arises in
part from the relatively large number of the heads on the plants, and in
part from the completeness of the pollinations, through the action of
the honey bee. These are relatively much more numerous than the bumble
bees, which alone among bees, it has been claimed, aid in the
pollination of medium red and mammoth clover. Although the seeds are
considerably less than half the size of those of medium red clover, as
much as 8 bushels of seed have been secured from an acre. Frequently,
however, the yields are less than 2 bushels. Good average yields may be
stated as running from 3 to 4 bushels per acre. The best yields are
usually obtained from the first crop, but under favorable conditions
this clover may be cut for seed for two and even three years in
succession. Better yields are usually obtained from crops of medium
vigor than from those of excessive rankness. The latter lodge to such an
extent as to reduce materially the yields of the seed, since the heads
do not fill well. The cost of harvesting and threshing such crops is
also greater, relatively, than of those of medium growth. To prevent
such excessive growth in the seed crop, pasturing for a time is
frequently resorted to. The grazing should begin reasonably early in the
season before growth anywhere becomes so rank that the animals do not
eat it in certain portions of the field, whereas, at the same time, they
graze other portions of the field too closely. Rather close grazing,
from the time that grazing begins, is preferable to grazing that leaves
the crop uneven. When certain portions of the field are left ungrazed,
or only partially grazed, the mower should be run over such portions
about the time that the grazing ceases. If this is done a few days
before the removal of the stock, they will eat much of the clover thus
mown. Unless the mower is thus used, under such conditions the seed will
ripen unevenly in the grazed and ungrazed portions of the same.

The duration of the grazing is much dependent on the soil and the
season. The more moist and rich the soil and the more moist the season,
the more prolonged should the grazing be. In Northern areas it seldom
begins earlier than May 1st, and seldom extends beyond June 1st. If
prolonged unduly and dry weather follows, the growth of the plants will
not be enough to produce average crops of seed. Quite frequently on
upland soils, the grazing should cease before the end of May.

Either cattle or sheep, or both, may be used in the grazing. Cattle do
not graze quite so closely as sheep, which is so far favorable to
subsequent growth. But sheep will glean weeds to a much greater extent
than cattle. When the field is made to carry so much stock that the
grazing is quickly and thoroughly done, the results are usually more
satisfactory than when the opposite method is practiced.

It is important that weeds shall be prevented from maturing seeds in the
clover. To prevent this, it may be necessary to run the mower over the
whole field at the close of the grazing season. In crops that are not
grazed, it may be necessary to use the scythe in clipping back weeds and
in cutting off any stray heads of timothy that may be pushing up toward
maturity. In some instances it may even be found profitable to use the
spud in destroying weeds of more dwarfish growth than those which can be
clipped with the scythe. It is more important, relatively, that weeds
shall be thus dealt with in growing alsike clover than in growing clover
of the larger varieties, since, owing to the small size of the seeds of
alsike, it is more difficult to remove foul seeds with the winnowing
mill. No kind of seed, probably, is more difficult to separate from
alsike seed than timothy; hence, when the former is grown for market,
these plants should not be grown together. If, perchance, they should be
so grown and the crop cut for seed, it would be well not to try to
separate the seeds, but to sow them thus, as even when thus mixed the
seed has a considerable market value.

The crop is ready for being harvested when nearly all the heads are
fully matured. The bloom will then have left them and they will be
characterized by a reddish cast. The earlier heads will have turned a
dark color, almost black. Some bloom may yet linger on the later and
smaller heads, but harvesting should not be delayed until these mature.

The seed crop can best be cut with the self-rake reaper, which throws
off the sheaves unbound. If cut with the grain binder, the sheaves
should not be bound. A sort of box attachment may be fastened to the
cutter-bar of the mower, which will enable the workmen to leave the hay
in sheaves, but to do this an additional hand is wanted to rake or pitch
off the sheaves. The sheaves should be laid off in rows, and by system,
rather than at random, for convenience in storing.

Usually, the sheaves are not disturbed until ready for being stored, but
in case of very heavy rain it may be necessary to turn the sheaves, to
prevent the seeds which come in contact with the ground from sprouting.
The sheaves should be carefully lifted, otherwise many of the heads will
break off and be lost. Because of this, it may be wise, frequently, to
refrain from lifting the sheaves for loading in the middle of the day.
Large forks, which may be run under the bunches, are more suitable than
ordinary forks.

When absolutely necessary, the seed crop may be harvested with the field
mower, as ordinarily used, but when it is thus harvested, the crop
should be cut with all promptness as soon as it is ready. It must then
be raked into winrows and lifted as hay is usually lifted. All the work
of harvesting should be done in those portions of the day when the heads
will break off less freely, and when at the same time the dew is not
resting on the seed plants in any considerable degree. When, however, a
crop of alsike is thus harvested for seed, many heads will break off,
howsoever careful the workmen may be.

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