Book: Clovers and How to Grow Them

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




Sweet clover will grow in all the provinces of Canada. For economic
uses, however, it is not likely to grow to any great extent east of Lake
Superior, or west of the Rocky Mountains. Other legumes more useful may
be grown in these areas. But in the intervening wheat-growing region it
is possible that it may come to be used for purposes of soil
renovation.

=Soils.=--But little can be gleaned from American sources on this
subject. Notwithstanding, it may be said with safety that it has greater
power to grow on poor, worn and hard soils than any forage plant that
has yet been introduced into America for economic uses.

It will probably be found true of it, as of other clovers, that it will
thrive best on soils that have produced timber, and more especially
timber of the hardwood varieties. This means, therefore, that it will
grow well in probably all kinds of clay soils and also in loam soils
underlaid with clay. It has high adaptation for soils abounding in lime.
It can be made to succeed on hard clay subsoils from which the surface
soil has been removed. But it will also grow well on sandy soils and
even on gravels when a reasonable amount of moisture is present. The
author succeeded in growing it in good form in 1897 and 1898 in a vacant
lot in St. Paul, from which 6 to 8 feet of surface soil had been removed
a short time previously. The subsoil was so sandy that it would almost
have answered for building uses.

This clover will probably grow with least success on soils of the
prairie so light in texture as to lift with the winds, and in which the
underlying clay is several feet from the surface, also in slough soils
that are much saturated with water.

Since it grows vigorously on road sides, in rocky waste places and even
in brick yards when sown without a covering, the idea has gained
currency that the harder the soil, the better the plants will grow, and
the more surely will they be established in the soil; but this view does
not seem to be in accord with the principles which usually govern plant
growth. It will, however, send its roots down into hard subsoils so
deeply that in certain seasons the plants could not be dug up without
the aid of a pick.

=Place in the Rotation.=--Since sweet clover seed is more commonly
scattered in byplaces, or is self-sown from plants that have run wild,
it can scarcely be said that it has ever been grown as a regular crop
and in a regular rotation. Nor is it ever likely to become a factor in
such a rotation unless its properties shall be so modified that it can
be grown acceptably as a pasture plant. In such an event it would have
the same place in the rotation as other clovers; that is, it would
naturally follow a cultivated, that is, a cleaning crop, and precede
some crop or a succession of crops that would profit from the nitrogen
and humus which it had brought to the soil, and also from the influence
which the roots would exercise mechanically upon the same. But the
necessity for sowing it on clean ground would not be so great as with
the other clovers, since it has greater power than these to overshadow
weeds when the two grow together.

In the meantime, this plant will probably continue to be grown as in the
past; that is, if sown, it will be sown: 1. In byplaces to provide
pasture for bees, in which case in time it will be superseded by other
plants. 2. On worn lands so poor that they refuse to grow valuable food
products sown, partly, at least, with a view to renovate them. And 3. In
cuttings made by railroads and in gullies that have been made in fields,
with a view to prevent soil movement. It may also come to be sown in
grain crops in localities where other varieties of clover will not grow,
to be plowed under the following spring.

=Preparing the Soil.=--Since sweet clover will grow on the firmest and
most forbidding soils, even when self-sown, it would not seem necessary,
ordinarily, to spend much time in specially preparing a seed-bed for it.
The fact stated is proof of its ability to grow on a firm surface. It
does not follow, however, that such a condition of the seed-bed will
give a better stand of the plants than a pulverized condition of the
same, as some have contended. It may be that on soils that are quite
loose near the surface, and under conditions that incline to dry a
seed-bed firm and even hard, may be more conductive to growth in the
plants than one in which the conditions are the opposite. Much rolling
of loose soils has been recommended when preparing the seed-bed with a
view to firm them.

When the seed is sown along with grain, the preparation of the soil
needed for grain would be ample preparation also for the clover. When
sown on stubble land, in many instances no preparation by way of
stirring the soil would seem necessary. And when sown on railroad
embankments, road sides, rocky situations and byplaces generally no
preparation of the soil would be possible.

=Sowing.=--In the North sweet clover is best sown in the spring. In
fact, it can only be sown then with the assurance that it will survive
the winter north of a certain limit. That limit will vary with altitude,
but it will probably run irregularly across the Middle States, from the
Atlantic westward to the Cascade Mountains, beyond which it will veer
away to the North. In the Southern States, it may be sown fall or
spring, but if sown late in the fall the young plants will in some
instances succumb to the frost of winter. Early fall sowing, therefore,
is much to be preferred to sowing late.

The method of sowing may be the same as in sowing medium red clover (see
page 78); that is, when the seed is sown with grain crops. When sown in
byplaces, it will ordinarily be sown by hand. In such places it will
re-seed itself and will likely grow in these for successive seasons. On
railroad embankments, the seed is scattered more commonly on the upper
portion, and from the plants which grow there the seeds produced scatter
downward. The plants not only lessen washing in the soil, but they
prepare the same for the growth of grasses. They also aid thus in the
introduction of grasses into rocky and very hard soils.

Sweet clover may be sown with almost any kind of a nurse crop desired,
which does not destroy it with an over-abundant shade. Or it may be sown
alone where such a necessity exists. But the instances are not numerous
in which it would be desirable or necessary to sow it alone on arable
soils. There may be conditions when it could be sown successfully at the
time of the last cultivation given to corn and with a view to soil
enrichment.

Since sweet clover is seldom sown for the purpose of providing food for
live stock, it is not sown in mixtures, nor is it well adapted for being
sown thus, because of the large and luxuriant character of the growth,
which would tend to smother other plants sown along with it.

The amount of seed to sow has been variously stated at from 15 to 20
pounds per acre. The smaller amount should be enough for almost any
purpose, and a much smaller amount should suffice for sowing in byplaces
and along road sides, where the plants retain possession of the ground
through self-seeding.

=Pasturing.=--Because of the bitter aromatic principle which it
contains, known as commarin, stock dislike it, especially at the first.
And it is questionable if they can be educated to like it in areas where
other food, which is more palatable, grows abundantly. In an experiment
directed by the author at the Minnesota University Experiment Station,
sheep pastured upon it, and did not take kindly to it; but by turning
them in to graze upon it in the morning, they cropped it down. In
localities where good grazing is not plentiful, if live stock have
access to it, especially when the plants are young, they will so crop it
down that in a few years it will entirely disappear. But where other
pastures are abundant, it will continue to grow indefinitely. It would
not seem wise to sow it for the purpose of providing grazing, unless
where the conditions for growing other and better grazing are
unfavorable.

Some have spoken favorably of sweet clover for soiling uses. It makes a
very rapid growth quite early in the season, and when cut and wilted
more or less before being fed, the palatability is thereby considerably
increased. Small plots of this plant near the outbuildings may in this
way be utilized with some advantage in the absence of better soiling
plants.

=Harvesting for Hay.=--Sweet clover is not a really good hay plant under
any conditions, and if not cut until it becomes woody, is practically
valueless for hay. It ought to be cut for hay a little before the stage
of bloom. If cutting is longer deferred, the plants become woody. Such
early cutting, however, adds much to the difficulty of curing the crop,
since, while naturally succulent, its succulence is then, of course,
considerably more than at a later period. It should be cured like medium
red clover. (See page 96.) If not cut sufficiently early, and cured with
as much care as is exercised in curing alfalfa, there will be
considerable loss from the shedding of the leaves.

More commonly the plants are not cut for hay the year that they are
sown, but some seasons such harvesting is entirely practicable in
certain situations. The hay crop or crops are usually taken the second
year. Sometimes the crop is cut twice. It is entirely practicable to
obtain two cuttings under ordinary conditions, because of the vigor in
the growth, and because of the early season at which it must be
harvested for hay. From 3 to 4 or 5 tons may thus be obtained in many
instances from the two cuttings.

=Securing Seed.=--Nearly all of the seed sown in this country is
imported. The author has not been able to obtain information with
reference to growing seed within the United States; hence, the inference
is fair that but little of it has been grown for that purpose up to the
present time. Since, however, it seeds freely, and since the price of
seed is high, seed crops, more especially when the plants are also
utilized as bee pasture, ought to prove remunerative in the hands of
judicious growers.

The seed crop is obtained usually, if not always, the second year after
the sowing. If cut for hay before coming into bloom, it will grow up
again and bear seed profusely. This would seem preferable on strong
soils, as it would prevent that rankness in growth which would militate
against abundant seed production, and which would add much to the labor
of handling the crop.

The seed crop may be cut and handled in substantially the same way as
medium red clover when grown for seed. It may also be cured and thrashed
essentially in the same way. (See page 105.) The author has not been
able to obtain information with reference to the average yield of the
seed crop under American conditions. The seed, like that of the medium
red variety, should weigh 60 pounds per bushel.

=Renewing.=--In the sense of a pasture or hay crop, it would not seem
necessary to try to renew this crop, because of the relatively low value
which it possesses for these uses. When grown for bee pasture, it will
renew itself for an indefinite period when the plants are not cut for
seed and where the conditions are favorable to growth. When grown to
keep soils from washing or railroad embankments from breaking down, it
will, of course, renew itself in the same way. In time, however, it is
usually superseded by some kind of grass, for which it has prepared the
way by the ameliorating and renewing influence which it exerts upon the
soil.

=Value for Bee Pasture.=--All authorities are agreed as to the high
value of this plant as a honey producer. The claim has been made for it
that for such a use it is more valuable acre for acre than any ordinary
grain crop. By cutting a part of the crop before it comes into bloom,
the season of honey production may be prolonged from, say, July 1st
until some time in the autumn, as the part thus cut will come into bloom
after the blooms have left the plants that were cut. When not disturbed,
sweet clover yields honey in the interval between the blooming of the
basswood and the golden rod. The honey is of excellent quality. There
should be no good reasons, therefore, why bee-keepers should not sow the
seed in by and waste places. But the wisdom of growing it as a
honey-producing crop on valuable land where other honey crops, as alsike
and white clover, can be grown in good form may be questioned.

=Value as a Fertilizer.=--The high value of this plant as a fertilizer
and soil improver cannot be questioned. But whether it should ever be
sown for such a use will depend on the capacity of the soil to produce
other crops valuable for fertilizing and also more valuable for
producing forage or fodder. Where other clovers more useful can be
grown, also cow peas, soy beans and other legumes valuable for food
uses, it would seem unwise to sow sweet clover. This would restrict its
use, therefore, as a soil renovator; first, to soils too poor to grow
those useful legumes; second, to areas where the climate conditions will
not admit of the growth of these; and third, to areas from which the
surface soil has been removed, and which it is desirable to so
ameliorate and improve the soil thus laid bare that it could later be
covered with some more valuable cover crop. Under present conditions
this would restrict its growth for the purpose named to sandy and
gravelly soils, to certain areas in the semi-arid region east of the
Rocky Mountains, and to such small areas as the surface soil had been
removed from.

In the semi-arid region where crops of grain and also some varieties of
field corn can be grown successfully, but where the clovers are not
successful; it would seem practicable to sow a few pounds of sweet
clover seed per acre at the same time as the grains, and to plow under
the plants produced some time in the month of May the next season. The
clover thus buried could be at once followed by corn or potatoes, or,
indeed, by any kind of a cleaning crop. The high price of seed at
present practically forbids growing clover thus.

Whether sweet clover grown for renovating uses should be turned under
the season in which it has been sown will depend largely on the growth
that has been made. In many instances, the growth made is so rank as to
justify plowing it under the following autumn. In other instances,
better results will follow plowing it under the next season. It
frequently happens that the growth made is so rank that a strong plow
and also a strong team are necessary to do the work properly.

=Value on Alkali soils.=--This plant has been grown to some extent to
aid in removing alkali from soils superabundantly impregnated with the
same. It will grow, it is claimed, under certain conditions on such
soils so surcharged with alkali as to prohibit almost every other form
of vegetable growth. The extent to which it may be thus used profitably
had not yet been fully demonstrated. But where it can be grown on such
soils, the fact that it takes up and removes relatively large quantities
of alkali would appear to be well established.

=Destroying the Plants.=--Should the conditions be found so favorable to
the growth of the plant that it persists in growing where it is not
wanted, it will soon cease to appear, if prevented from going to seed.
Ordinarily, the blossoms appear only during the second year of growth.
If, therefore, the plants are cut off when in bloom, seed forming will
not only be prevented, but since sweet clover is a biennial, the plants
will die. When thus dealt with, the only source from which other plants
may come while extermination is being thus sought is from seed lodged in
the soil and still capable of germinating.




CHAPTER XII

MISCELLANEOUS VARIETIES OF CLOVER


In addition to the varieties of clover that have been discussed at some
length in previous chapters are a number the value of which may be
considerable to areas more or less local and limited. These include
Sainfoin, Egyptian clover, Yellow clover, Sand lucerne, Japanese clover,
Beggarweed and Seaside clover. Some of these, as Sainfoin and Buffalo
clover, have been in the country for several years, and yet but little
is known as to their behavior, except in very limited areas. Others, as
Buffalo clover, native to the country are thought to have merit, and yet
the degree of such merit does not appear to have been yet proved under
cultivation. The three varieties but recently introduced are thought to
have considerable promise for certain soils and climates to which they
have special adaptation, but sufficient trial has not been given them to
determine even approximately the measure of their worth to this country.
These varieties will now be discussed, but for the reasons stated above
it will be manifest that the discussion will of necessity be imperfect
and fragmentary in character.


SAINFOIN

Sainfoin (_Onobrychis sativa_) is a perennial, leguminous, clover-like
forage plant of the bean family. The word Sainfoin is equivalent to the
French words for sound or wholesome hay. It is also frequently called
Esparcette or Asperset, more especially in Germany. It is further known
in England by the name Cock's Head, French Grass and Medick Vetchling.
In some parts of France and Switzerland the name has been and probably
is yet applied to lucerne (_Medicago sativa_).

In its habit of growth it is more woody in the rootstock than clover and
more branched. It also grows to a greater average height. The stems,
which are covered with fine hairs, bear numerous leaves long and
pinnate. The blossoms are numerous and of an attractive, pinkish color,
brightening into a crimson tint. The seed pods are flattened from side
to side and wrinkled, and are also sickle-shaped. They bear but one
seed. The roots are strong and more or less branched.

Sainfoin, as already intimated, is perennial in its habit of growth.
When a field is once well set with the plants, it should continue to
produce crops for a decade, but will eventually be crowded out with
weeds or other grasses. It grows very early in the season, quite as
early, if not earlier, than alfalfa, and continues to grow until autumn.

The feeding value of sainfoin is much the same as that of alfalfa. It is
much esteemed where it can be grown for the production of pasture, of
soiling food, and also hay, valuable for enriching the land, through the
medium of the roots, and also when the tops are plowed under as green
manure.

Sainfoin is native throughout the whole of Central Europe and over
much of Siberia. Although native to the southern counties of England, it
does not appear to have been cultivated there before the year 1651, at
which time it is said to have been introduced from Flanders. From what
has been said with reference to the distribution of sainfoin in Europe
and Asia, it will be apparent that it is a hardy plant, which has
highest adaptation for climates temperate and mild to moderately cool.
Its hardihood has been shown by its surviving the winters in the
latitude of the St. Lawrence River, but the abundant snow covering then
provided should not be lost sight of.

[Illustration: Fig. 10. Sainfoin (_Onobrychis sativa_)
Oregon Experiment Station]

Its adaptation to the United States does not appear to have been proved
yet, except in limited areas. In some of the Montana valleys good crops
have been grown with much success in many of those western valleys, and
even on the bench lands at the base of foothills. Nor would there seem
to be any good reasons for supposing that good crops could not be grown
in various parts of the United States where the soil is suitable.

In Canada, sainfoin has succeeded in Quebec. In trials made by the
author at the Ontario Agricultural College at Guelph success was only
partial, but the trials were limited. There would seem to be no good
reasons why this plant should not succeed in many places in Canada where
limestone soils prevail.

This plant is best adapted to dry soils calcareous in their composition
and somewhat porous in character. This explains its great affinity for
the chalk soils which abound in the south of England. On the dry,
limestone soils of this country it ought to succeed. It has shown much
adaptation for the volcanic soils of the Western mountain region, where
it has been tried. On stiff clays it grows too slowly to be entirely
satisfactory. It ought not to be sown on soils wet or swampy in
character.

Since sainfoin is perennial in its habit of growth, and since, when once
well set, it will retain its hold upon the soil for several years, it is
not in the strict sense of the term a rotation plant. When it is grown,
however, it should be followed by crops which require large quantities
of nitrogen easily accessible, to enable them to complete their growth.
If this plant should ever be grown to any considerable extent in the
mountain States, much that has been said with reference to the place for
alfalfa in the rotation will also apply to sainfoin. (See page 135.)

It has been found more difficult to get a good stand of sainfoin plants
than of other varieties of the clover family. This is owing to the low
germinating power frequently found in the seed. The stand of plants is
frequently found to be too thin and scattering. Weeds, therefore, and
sometimes grasses are much liable to come into the soil occupied by the
sainfoin and to crowd the same. Because of this it is specially
important that sainfoin shall be sown on a clean seed-bed.

The seed is very frequently sown in the hull, and usually in the early
spring. But there would seem to be no reasons why the seed should not be
sown in the early autumn in localities where alfalfa can be sown thus.
(See page 145.) In the rough form, it is usually broadcasted by hand,
but would probably also feed through a seed drill. When sown apart from
the hull, the seed may be sown by the same methods as alfalfa. (See page
147.) In the rough form, from 3 to 5 bushels per acre are sown. In the
clean form, it is claimed that 40 pounds of seed should be sown, but
that amount of clean and good seed would seem to be excessive on
well-prepared land. The seed in the hull weighs 26 pounds per bushel.
The plan of sowing 2 to 3 pounds per acre of the seed of alsike clover
along with the sainfoin would doubtless be found helpful under some
conditions, as it would tend to thicken the crop, more especially the
first season.

Sainfoin is a good pasture plant when properly grazed. It does not
produce bloat in cattle or sheep as alfalfa does. In this fact is found
one of the strongest reason why it should be grown in areas where
alfalfa is wanted for pasture. It will furnish grazing about as early as
alfalfa, and considerably earlier than medium red clover.

This plant is more frequently grown for soiling food than for hay. For
the former use it has high adaptation, since it will furnish several
cuttings of soiling food per season. It will also furnish two cuttings
of hay, or one of hay and one of seed, and under some conditions more
than two cuttings can be obtained. In the latitude of Montreal it is
ready to be cut for hay during the early days of June. It is ready for
being cut when the blossoms begin to expand. Much care is necessary in
curing the hay, in order to prevent the too free shedding of the leaves.
The methods for making alfalfa hay will apply also to sainfoin.

Seed may be obtained from the first or second cutting of the crop. It is
usually obtained from the second cutting, as the yield is much larger
than that obtained from the first cutting. The author has not been able
to obtain any facts based on experience regarding the harvesting of the
seed crop under American field conditions. But the methods followed in
obtaining seed from alfalfa would probably also answer equally well for
sainfoin. Great care is necessary in handling the seed crop, owing to
the ease with which the seed shatters. Special pains are also necessary
to keep the germinating power of the seed from injury from overheating.
Nor does the seed seem able to retain germinating power as long as the
seeds of some other varieties of clover. In experiments conducted by
Professor C. A. Zavitz at the Ontario Experiment Station at Guelph in
1902 and 1903, the average yield per acre was 426.1 pounds.


EGYPTIAN CLOVER

Egyptian clover (_Trifolium Alexandrianum_) is more commonly known in
the Nile valley as Berseem. It is of at least three varieties. These are
the Muscowi, Fachl and Saida, all of which are more or less closely
related to medium red clover. The term _Alexandrianum_ as applied above
is somewhat misleading, as its growth is not specially identified with
Alexandria, nor is its growth in Egypt supposed to be of great
antiquity, since no trace of it is found upon the ancient monuments.

The Muscowi variety, which is commonly grown more especially in lower
Egypt, sometimes grows to the height of 5 feet and over, but usually it
is not more than half the height named. In its habit of growth it is
rather upright, like alfalfa, but the hollow stems are softer and more
succulent, and the blossoms occur on heads resembling those of clover,
but not so compactly formed, and they are white in color. The seeds bear
a close resemblance to those of crimson clover. The roots are much
shorter, but more spreading in their habit of growth than those of
alfalfa, and in Egyptian soils they bear small tubercles abundantly.
This variety, which is usually grown on land that can be irrigated at
any season, produces in some instances 5 cuttings in a season. The Fachl
variety is usually grown on land irrigated by the basin system; that is,
the system which covers the land with water but once a year, and for a
period more or less prolonged. But one crop a year is taken from such
land. The hay from this variety is heavier for the bulk than that of the
Muscowi. The Saida variety is of a lower habit of growth than the
Muscowi and has a longer tap root, which enables it to stand drought
better than the Muscowi. It is more commonly sown in Egypt southward
from Cairo.

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