Book: Clovers and How to Grow Them

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There is the same danger from bloating that is present when pasturing
medium red clover. (See page 94.) To avoid this danger, cattle that are
being thus pastured are in some instances given access to cured clover
hay. In other instances the haulm of the seed is left in the field so
that the cattle have access to it. But the second season of grazing, the
danger from bloat is not so great as the first season, as usually more
of other pasture plants grow amid the clover.

Horses, cattle, sheep or swine may be used in grazing off the clover for
seed. All of these may be used at the same time. Horses bite the crowns
of the plants so closely as to somewhat injure subsequent growth; sheep
also crop rather closely; cattle do not crop the plants so closely;
consequently, they are so far preferable to horses or sheep for such
grazing. On the other hand, sheep will prove far more destructive to
weed growth in the pasture.

=Harvesting for Hay.=--Ordinarily, the methods of making the hay crop
are the same as those followed in curing medium red clover. The mammoth
variety, however, frequently requires a longer season in which to cure,
owing, first, to the heavier character of the growth, and second, to the
larger stems of the latter. After it has been mown there is greater
reason for using the tedder in getting it ready for being raked, and it
calls for more curing before it is put into cocks. The larger the
proportion of the timothy in the crop, the more easily it is cured. It
is ready for cutting when in full bloom, and loses more than the medium
red when cutting is too long deferred, because of the larger proportion
of coarse stems in the crop. It is also relatively more injured by rain
in the cocks, since it sheds rain even less readily than the medium red
clover, and the same is true of it in the stack.

Some farmers cure mammoth clover in its green form in the mow as they
also cure the medium red variety, but the same objections apply to
curing it thus that apply to the similar curing of the medium red. (See
page 102.) Others cure it in the mow by storing good bright straw,
preferably oat straw, in alternate layers along with the clover. From
one-third to one-half the quantity of the straw as compared with the hay
will suffice for such curing, varying with the degree of the wilting in
the hay. Clover cut in the morning after the dew has lifted may be thus
stored the same day. Where the facilities are present such a method of
curing mammoth clover may be eminently wise in showery weather. The
natural color of the hay and blossoms is thus preserved and the straw is
eaten with avidity, because of what it has imbibed from the clover.

=Securing Seed.=--It has been already intimated more seed will be
obtained when the clover has been pastured or cut back with the mower.
(See page 233.) When the mower is used, it should not be set to cut
quite low, or the subsequent growth will not be so vigorous as it would
otherwise be. The state of growth at which the clover ought to be cut
will be influenced by the luxuriance of the growth, but ordinarily
clover seed should not be more than 6 to 8 inches high when the mower is
used. What is thus cut by the mower is left on the ground as a mulch.
Mowing the crop thus will also be helpful in destroying weeds, but some
weeds will sprout again and mature seed as quickly as the clover.

When mammoth clover is neither pastured nor mown early in the season,
when grown for seed some kinds of weeds may be prevented from going to
seed in it by cutting them off with the scythe. When not too plentiful
they may be removed with the spud. Among the more troublesome weeds that
infest mammoth clover are the Canada thistle (_Cirsium arvense_), the
plantain (_Plantago lanceolata_), and in some instances the horse nettle
(_Solanum Carolinense_) and spring nightshade (_Solanum_).

The yields of the clover seed will be much influenced by the character
of the weather. Excessive rankness in the crop and excessive rainfall
during the blossoming season are adverse to abundant seed production.
But the seed crop is more injured by drought than by too much rain. When
injured by drought the growth will not be sufficiently strong, or, if it
is, the blossoms will be of a pale red tint. Warm winds while the seed
is forming are also adverse to seed production, since they cause the
crop to mature too quickly. Some experience will enable the capable
observer to forecast with no little certainty the probable yield of the
seed. If the indications point to a yield of seed less than 2 bushels
per acre, it is deemed more profitable, as a rule, to cut the crop for
hay. Large heads of a rich dark purple shade accompanied by vigor in the
entire plant are indicative of abundant seed production.

The crop is ready for being harvested when a majority of the heads have
ripened so far that the bloom on them is all gone and the shade of color
in the head has not yet become brown. If left until a majority of the
heads are brown many of them will break off while being harvested. The
crop is usually cut with a self-rake reaper, but it may be cut with a
mower. When cut by either method the sheaves should be made small, so
that they will dry out quickly.

It is important that the crop shall be threshed before it is rained on,
as one thorough wetting will so far bedim the attractive brightness as
compared with seed that has not been rained on that it will considerably
discount the price that would otherwise be obtained for it. It is
usually threshed with a huller, but may also be threshed like the medium
red variety by a grain separator with a suitable attachment.

The yields of the seed vary much. Instances are on record where as much
as 11 or 12 bushels per acre have been reaped, but ordinarily even on
good producing soils the yields are not more than 4 to 5 bushels per
acre, and under ordinary conditions for the production of mammoth clover
they are even less than the amount named. Notwithstanding the greater
strength of the plants, the seeds are apparently no larger than those of
the medium red variety, nor can they be distinguished from them unless
by an expert.

=Renewing.=--Much that has been said with reference to the renewing of
medium red clover will apply equally to the renewing of the mammoth.
(See page 109.) Where seed crops are much grown, the soil becomes so
impregnated with the seed that more or less of the plants will appear
any season. Renewal in the South is more important, relatively, than in
the North, as under some conditions the plants survive for a longer
period in Southern soils.

=Compared with Medium Red Clover.=--1. The mammoth is larger and coarser
than the medium red and is considerably less erect in its habit of
growth. It has larger and longer roots; hence, it goes down more deeply
into the subsoil in search of food.

2. It is, on the whole, longer lived than the medium red variety and has
greater power to grow in a sandy soil and under conditions in which
moisture is not plentiful.

3. It provides more pasture than the medium red variety during the early
part of the season, but not so much after harvest, the season of growth
being less continuous then than with the former.

4. The hay which it furnishes is usually considerably more bulky and
coarse, and because of this it is not so highly prized by stock.

5. It blooms about three weeks later than the medium red variety and
remains a little longer in bloom and seeds more freely, but can only be
cut once in a season.

6. It furnishes more green food for plowing under than the medium red;
hence, it is, on the whole, a better improver of the soil.




CHAPTER VII

CRIMSON CLOVER


Crimson Clover (_Trifolium incarnatum_) is also known by the names
French, German, German Mammoth, Italian, Egyptian and Carnation clover.
In America it is common in certain areas to speak of it as winter
clover, from the greater powers of growth which it possesses at that
season as compared with other clovers.

The plants have an erect habit of growth, and yet they are soft and
hairy, and they have much power to stool. More than 100 stems have been
produced by one plant, but under conditions the most favorable. The
leaves are numerous. The heads are oblong, cylindrical, and considerably
cone-shaped, and are from 1 to 2 inches long, and much larger than those
of medium red clover. The bloom is scarlet or crimson and of the richest
dye; hence, a more beautiful sight is seldom seen than that of a
vigorous crop of crimson clover in full bloom. The average height of the
plants may be put at about 18 inches, but they have been grown to the
height of 3 and even 4 feet. The root growth is fully twice that of the
stems. The roots are strong, go down straight into the soil, and are to
some extent branched.

Crimson clover is an annual, although usually the growth covers a part
of two years. Sown in the summer or early autumn, growth is completed
by the advent of the following summer. It is, therefore, pre-eminently a
catch crop, and because of this, when conditions admit of it, serves a
purpose in American agriculture, which can be served by none of the
other varieties of clover that are now grown. It has much power to grow
in cool weather, when the clovers are practically dormant. It does not
cease to grow until the ground has become frozen, and as soon as the
frost leaves the soil growth begins at once; hence, the greater relative
value this plant has for areas in which the winters are mild.

[Illustration: Fig. 6. Crimson Clover (_Trifolium incarnatum_)
Tennessee Experiment Station]

Crimson clover is much relished by farm animals, whether used as
pasture, soiling food, silage or hay. Under some conditions it may be
pastured autumn and spring, and even through much of the winter. As a
soiling plant, its value is high, not only because it is a legume, but
because it comes in season at a time when it may be fed with winter rye
used as soiling. But the period is short during which it furnishes
soiling food. Its value as hay will always be lessened by the difficulty
in curing it so early in the season, and because of the danger from
feeding it to horses when cut at a too advanced stage of growth. It is
much in favor for furnishing chicken pasture in winter.

As a catch crop crimson clover may be made to do duty in seasons in
which other clover crops may have failed. As a cover crop or a mulch for
orchards, it is in high favor, as the growth which it produces protects
the roots of the same. But its greatest use lies in the beneficial
influence which it exerts upon soils by enriching them and also
improving their mechanical condition. It is likely, therefore, to be
grown more for this purpose than for any other. While growing it in many
instances will not render unnecessary the use of commercial fertilizers,
it will greatly reduce the quantity of these that would otherwise be
necessary. Owing to the season at which it is grown, it will be found
quite helpful in destroying weeds.

The behavior of crimson clover has thus far been somewhat erratic, even
in areas where the conditions are looked upon as generally favorable to
its growth. The opinions of practical men differ much with reference to
its value. There have been many instances of success and failure in the
same locality, and even in the experience of the same individual. These
varied experiences are doubtless due in a considerable degree to a
difference in seasons, to want of acclimation in the seed sown, to a
difference in varieties and to want of knowledge on the part of the
growers, whose work, heretofore, has been largely tentative. Five
different varieties have been grown, and these have not shown equal
degrees of hardiness. But the rapidly increasing sales of seed point to
the conclusion that larger areas are being sown every year. The increase
referred to may be expected to grow greater for many years to come;
since, when the needs of the plant are better understood, the failures
will be fewer.

=Distribution.=--Crimson clover is probably indigenous to certain parts
of Europe, especially to the countries that lie southwest and south. It
has been grown to a considerable extent in France, Germany and Italy.
The name Egyptian would seem also to imply that it is grown in Egypt. It
is not grown to any considerable extent north and west in Europe, owing,
probably, to the too severe conditions of climate which characterize
these. It is not indigenous to America, but was probably introduced from
Europe two or three decades ago. Its late introduction accounts for the
fact that its adaptation in some parts of the United States is as yet
controverted.

This plant needs a climate rather mild and decidedly moist. It cannot
withstand severe freezing when the ground is bare; hence, its uniformly
successful growth cannot be relied on very far north of the Ohio and
Potomac rivers. True, in certain winters of much snowfall it has come
through in good form considerably north of the rivers mentioned, but in
more instances it has failed. On the other hand, while it grows best in
warm climates, the growth in these is made chiefly when the weather is
cool, as in the autumn and spring, and in some instances in the winter.
It would be about correct to say that the climatic adaptation of this
plant is nearly the same as that of the peach. Climates too cold for
fruitage in the latter would be too cold for the uniformly safe
wintering of crimson clover. It would also seem correct to state that on
suitable soils and with sufficient precipitation, this clover will do
best in the United States when the climate is too warm for the medium
red clover to grow at its best. In the United States, soil and climatic
conditions taken together, would probably give Delaware, New Jersey,
Maryland, Virginia and Tennessee highest adaptation for the growth of
this plant. Taking in a wide area, highest adaptation would lie in the
States south of the Potomac and Ohio rivers and east of the Mississippi.
Washington and Oregon, west to the Cascade Mountains, would probably
furnish exceptions, but in these the necessity for growing crimson
clover is not likely to be so great as in the area just referred to,
owing to the ease with which other varieties of clover may be grown. In
some parts of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan many farmers
have succeeded well in growing crimson clover, but a larger number have
failed. The failures have arisen largely through dry weather in the
autumn, want of plant food in the soil and the severity of the winter
weather. Westward from these States to the Mississippi, the adaptation
is still lower, and the same is true of the New England States. In fact,
it is so low in these that it is far more likely that it will fail than
that it will succeed. Between the Mississippi and the Cascade Mountains,
crimson clover is not likely to be much grown. It will not grow well in
any part of the semi-arid belt. In the mountain valleys it would
probably succeed, but in these alfalfa and some other varieties of
clover will give far better returns.

Crimson clover will not grow well in any part of Canada, except in that
narrow strip of land between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific. The
winter climate is too cold for it. Some crops have been grown
successfully in the peach-producing areas of Ontario contiguous to Lakes
Erie and Ontario, but even in these it is an uncertain crop. The attempt
has been made to grow it in some of the provinces of Canada, and in
several of the States, by sowing the seed in the spring. Some fairly
good crops have been thus obtained, but usually not so good as can be
grown by sowing certain other varieties of clover at the same season. It
is but reasonable to expect, however, that adaptation in growing crimson
clover will widen with the acclimation of the plant, and with increasing
knowledge as to its needs on the part of those who grow it.

=Soils.=--Crimson clover though usually grown for the enrichment of
soils will not, as a rule, make satisfactory growth on soils very low in
the elements of fertility, whatsoever may be their composition or
texture. On orchard lands liberally fertilized, in the Middle Atlantic
States, excellent crops have been obtained, whereas on adjacent soils
precisely similar they have failed. In the Southern States, however,
better results, relatively, will be obtained from sowing this clover on
comparatively infertile lands, owing to the longer season which it has
for continuous growth. Where the winters are possessed of considerable
severity and when the protection of snow is more or less wanting, unless
the plants are strong when they enter the winter, they are almost
certain to perish. Loam soils with reasonably porous subsoils are best
adapted to its growth. Of these, sandy loams have a higher adaptation
than clay loams, when equal to the former in fertility, as in the latter
the plants can more quickly gather the needed food supplies, since the
roots and rootlets can penetrate them more readily. Such soils are well
adapted to the growth of orchards, especially peach orchards, and it is
in such areas that crimson clover has been grown with highest success.
In the alfalfa soils of the Rocky Mountain valleys it should also grow
well, but on these it would be less profitable to grow than alfalfa,
because of the permanency of the alfalfa. Even on sandy soils a good
growth will be obtained when these have been fertilized and sufficient
moisture is present. On stiff clays the growth is too slow to produce
crops highly satisfactory either North or South, and in dry weather it
is also difficult to obtain a stand of the plants. The alluvial soils of
river bottoms in the South produce good crops. The vegetable soils of
the prairie do not grow the plants very well, and the adaptation in
slough or swamp soils is even lower. Good crops will not be obtained on
soils underlaid with hardpan which comes up near the surface, whatsoever
the nature of the top soil may be, since the roots cannot penetrate
these.

=Place in the Rotation.=--It cannot be said of crimson clover, in the
ordinary usage of the word, that it is a rotation plant. It has probably
no fixed place in any regular rotation, and yet it can be used almost
anywhere in the rotation that may be desired, and in any rotation
whether long or short, regular or irregular. As previously intimated, it
is usually grown as a catch crop, and primarily to fertilize the land;
and since its growth is chiefly or entirely made in the late summer,
autumn, winter and early spring, that is to say, when the land is not
otherwise occupied, the only hindrances to using it anywhere in the
rotation are such as arise from the nature of the weather, the
mechanical condition of the land and the needs of the crops that are to
follow. For instance, at the usual season for sowing it, the weather may
be so dry as to preclude the hope of successful germination in the seed.
This influence may also make it impossible to bring the land into that
mechanical condition which makes a good seed-bed without undue labor,
and ordinarily it would not be necessary to have crimson clover precede
another leguminous crop; since the latter, under many conditions, can
secure its own supply of nitrogen. To this there may be some exceptions.
There may be instances, as on light, porous and leechy soils, when it
might be proper to grow crimson clover as an aid in securing a stand of
the medium red variety, or in growing a crop of peas for the summer
market. Ordinarily, however, this crop is grown to increase the supply
of plant food in the soil for crops which require nitrogen, and to give
soils more or less porous, increased power to hold moisture and applied
fertilizers. It is probably seldom grown to improve the mechanical
condition of stiff soils, since on these it grows slowly. Some other
plants can do this more effectively. It is pre-eminently the catch crop
for the orchardist and the market gardener, and yet it may be made the
catch crop also of the farmer, under certain conditions.

Crimson clover may be made to follow any crop, but it is seldom
necessary to have it follow another leguminous crop which has brought
nitrogen to the soil. Nor is it usually sown after a grass crop which
has brought humus to the land. It is frequently sown after small cereal
grain crops that have been harvested. It may be made to follow any of
these. Sometimes it is sown in standing corn. But oftener than anywhere
else probably, it is sown in orchards and on soils from which early
potatoes and garden vegetables have been removed.

It is peculiarly fitted for being grown in orchards. In these it may be
grown from year to year. It may be thus grown not only to gather
nitrogen for the trees, but to make them more clean than they would
otherwise be when the fruit is being gathered, to protect the roots of
the trees in winter and to aid in the retention of moisture when plowed
under. But this plant may also, with peculiar fitness, be made to
precede late garden crops. It may be plowed under sufficiently early to
admit of this, and when so buried it aids in making a fine seed-bed,
since the roots promote friability in the land. When grown under what
may be termed strictly farm conditions, it usually precedes a cultivated
crop, as potatoes, corn, or one of the sorghums. It is equally suitable
in fitting the soil for the growth of vine crops, such as melons,
squashes and pumpkins.

But in some localities this crop may be grown so as to break down the
lines of old-time rotations, since in some instances it may be
successfully grown from year to year for several years without change.
Potatoes and sweet corn, for instance, may be thus grown.

=Preparing the Soil.=--In preparing the seed-bed for crimson clover, the
aim should be to secure fineness of pulverization near the surface and
moistness in the same. The former is greatly important, because of the
aid which it renders in securing the latter at a season when moisture is
often lacking in the soil. As it is rather grown on soils deficient in
humus than on those plentifully supplied with the same, fineness in the
seed-bed is not so important as it is with some classes of prairie
soils.

In starting the seed, drought is the chief hindrance to be overcome in
the North, owing to the season at which the seed must be sown; hence,
the aim should be to begin preparing the seed-bed as long as possible
before the sowing of the seed. The preparation called for will be
influenced by the kind of soil, the crop last grown upon it and also the
weather; hence, the process of preparing the seed-bed will vary. The
judgment must determine whether the land should be plowed, or disked and
pulverized, or simply harrowed. After potatoes and other garden crops,
harrowing may suffice; after certain grain crops on soils not too stiff,
disking may suffice; but where much trash is to be buried, plowing would
be necessary, and when the ground is at all cloddy, the roller should be
freely used. In corn fields the last cultivation will make a suitable
seed-bed, and the same is sometimes true in cotton fields.

To grow good crops of crimson clover, it is necessary that there shall
be a considerable amount of plant food in the soil that is readily
available. Farmyard manure when it can be spared or secured will supply
the need. But the results will probably be more satisfactory where the
manure has been applied to the previous crop, as, for instance, to
potatoes or corn, and for the reason, probably, that in the relatively
dry season at which the seed of this plant is sown, the residue of the
manure still in the soil is more readily available than freshly applied
manure would be. Good crops have been grown on land thus manured, when
at the same time seed sown on land under similar conditions and similar
in other respects failed to give satisfactory yields.

In a majority of instances farmyard manure cannot be spared for such a
use. When it cannot, if necessary, commercial fertilizers may be
applied. Those rich in phosphoric acid and potash are usually most
needed, but sometimes nitrogen also is necessary. When nitrogen is used,
it may be best applied on the growing crop and while it is young.
Phosphoric acid and potash may be fitly applied when the land is being
prepared, and in a way that will incorporate them with the surface soil.
These may be used in the form of wood ashes, bone meal, Thomas' slag,
Kainit, sulphate or muriate of potash, South Carolina rock and acid
phosphate. Acid phosphate and muriate of potash stand high in favor with
some growers when applied in the proportions of 9 and 1 parts and at the
rate of, say, 200 pounds more or less per acre.

=Sowing.=--The date for sowing crimson clover would seem to depend more
upon latitude than upon any other influence. North of the Ohio River it
should seldom be sown later than September 1st, lest the growth of the
plants should not be strong enough to endure the winter weather. Nor
should it be sown earlier than July 1st, lest the plants should reach
the blooming stage without having made a sufficient growth, an objection
which applies to sowing earlier than July 1st in any part of the United
States. All things considered, August is the most favorable month for
sowing the seed north of the Ohio and Potomac rivers. In the South,
sowing at a later period is preferable. In the latitude of Tennessee,
September would usually prove more suitable for sowing than an earlier
date, and near the Gulf, October. But it may be sown earlier and later
in these respective latitudes. It is a good time to sow the seed in much
of the South when the autumn rains begin to come, and the same is true
of the Puget Sound country.

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