Book: Clovers and How to Grow Them

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




Grazing clover in the spring and somewhat closely for several weeks
after growth begins, has been thought conducive to abundant seed
production. This result is due probably to the greater increase in the
seed heads that follow such grazing. This would seem to explain why
clover that has been judiciously grazed produces even more seed than
that clipped off by the mower after it has begun to grow freely.

In nearly all localities the grazing of medium red clover, and even of
mammoth clover, somewhat closely in the autumn of the second year, is to
be practised rather than avoided. These two varieties being essentially
biennial in their habit of growth will not usually survive the second
winter, even though not grazed, hence not to graze them would result in
a loss of the pasture.

With nearly all kinds of clover there is some danger from bloat in
grazing them with cattle or sheep while yet quite succulent, and the
danger is intensified when the animals are turned in to graze with empty
stomachs or when the clover is wet with dew or rain. When such bloating
occurs, for the method of procedure see page 95. The danger that bloat
will be produced is lessened in proportion as other grasses abound in
the pastures.

=Harvesting.=--All the varieties of clover, except alfalfa, are best cut
for hay when in full bloom. Here and there a head may have turned brown.
If cut earlier, the crop is difficult to cure, nor will it contain a
maximum of nutriment. If cut later it loses much in palatability.
Alfalfa should be cut a little earlier, or just when it is nicely coming
into bloom, as if cut later the shedding of the leaves in the curing is
likely to be large.

All clovers are much injured by exposure to rain or dew. They will also
lose much if cured in the swath, without being frequently stirred with
the tedder; that is, it will take serious injury if cured in the swath
as it fell from the mower. If cured thus, it will lose in aroma and
palatability, through the breaking of leaves and, consequently, in
feeding value. To avoid these losses, clover is more frequently cured in
the cock. When cured thus, it preserves the bright green color, the
aroma and the tint of the blossoms, it is less liable to heat in the mow
or stack and is greatly relished by live stock when fed to them.

To cure it thus, it is usually tedded once or twice after it has lost
some of its moisture. It is then raked as soon as it is dried enough to
rake easily, and put up into cocks. When the quantity to be cured is not
large caps are sometimes used to cover the cocks to shed the rain when
the weather is showery. These are simply square strips of some kind of
material that will shed rain, weighted at the corners to keep them from
blowing away. The clover remains in the cocks for two or three days, or
until it has gone through the "sweating" process. Exposure to two or
three showers of rain falling at intervals while partially cured in the
swath or winrow will greatly injure clover hay.

When the area to be harvested is large, clover is sometimes cured in the
swath. When thus cured it is stirred with the tedder often enough to aid
in curing the hay quickly. It is then raked into winrows and drawn from
these to the place of storage. In good weather clover may be cured thus
so as to make fairly good hay, but not so good as is made by the other
method of curing. It is much more expeditiously made, but there is some
loss in leaves, in color and in palatability.

Some farmers cure clover by allowing it to wilt a little after it is
cut, and then drawing and storing it in a large mow. They claim that it
must be entirely free from rain or dew when thus stored. This plan of
curing clover has been successfully practised by some farmers for many
years; others who have tried it have failed, which makes it evident that
when stored thus, close attention must be given to all the details
essential to success.

Clover may also be cured in the silo. While some have succeeded in
making good ensilage, in many cases it has not proved satisfactory. The
time may come when the conditions to be observed in making good silage
from clover will be such that the element of hazard in making the same
will be removed. In the meantime, it will usually be more satisfactory
to cure clover in the ordinary way.

Grasses cure more easily and more quickly than clovers. Consequently,
when these are grown together so that the grasses form a considerable
proportion of the hay, the methods followed in curing the grasses will
answer also for the clovers. For these methods the reader is referred to
the book "Grasses and How to Grow Them" by the author. The influence
that grasses thus exert on the growing of clovers furnishes a weighty
reason for growing them together.

=Storing.=--Clovers are ready to store when enough moisture has left the
stems to prevent excessive fermentation when put into the place of
storage. Hay that has been cured in the cock is much less liable to heat
when stored so as to produce mould, than hay cured in the swath or
winrow. The former has already gone through the heating process or, at
least, partially so. Some experience is necessary to enable one to be
quite sure as to the measure of the fitness of hay for being stored.
When it can be pitched without excessive labor it is ready for being
stored, but the unskilled will not likely be able to judge of this
accurately. If a wisp is taken some distance from the top of the winrow
or cock and twisted between the hands, if moisture exudes it is too
damp, and if the hay breaks asunder readily it is too dry. When no
moisture is perceptible and yet the wisp does not break asunder, the hay
is ready to be drawn. Care must be taken that the wisp chosen be
representative of the mass of the hay. To make sure of this, the test
should be applied several times.

Where practicable the aim should be to store clover hay under cover,
owing to the little power which it has to shed rain in the stack. This
is only necessary, however, in climates with considerable rainfall
during the year and where irrigation is practised, as in the mountain
States clover hay may be kept in the stack without any loss from rain,
and it can be cured exactly as the ranchman may desire, since he is
never embarrassed when making hay by bad weather. When storing clovers,
the time of the day at which it is stored influences the keeping
qualities of the hay. Hay stored at noontide may keep properly, whereas,
if the same were stored while dew is falling it might be too damp for
being thus stored.

Much care should be taken in stacking clover hay that it may shed rain
properly. The following should be observed among other rules of less
importance that may be given: 1. Make a foundation of rails, poles or
old straw or hay that will prevent the hay near the ground from taking
injury from the ground moisture. 2. Keep the heart of the stack highest
from the first and the slope gradual and even from the center toward the
sides. 3. Keep the stack evenly trodden, or it will settle unevenly, and
the stack will lean to one side accordingly. 4. Increase the diameter
from the ground upward until ready to draw in or narrow to form the top.
5. Aim to form the top by gradual rather than abrupt narrowing. 6. Top
out by using some other kind of hay or grass that sheds the rain better
than clover. 7. Suspend weights to some kind of ropes, stretching over
the top of the stack to prevent the wind from removing the material put
on to protect the clover from rain.

=Feeding.=--The clovers furnish a ration more nearly in balance than
almost any other kind of food. If the animals to which they are fed
could consume enough of them to produce the desired end, concentrated
foods would not be wanted. They are so bulky, however, relatively, that
to horses and mules at work, to dairy cows in milk and cattle that are
being fattened, to sheep under similar conditions, and to swine, it is
necessary to add the concentrated grain foods, more or less, according
to the precise object. But for horses, mules, cattle, sheep and goats
that are growing subsequent to the weaning stage, and for mature animals
of these respective classes not producing, that is, not yielding
returns, a good quality of clover hay will suffice for a considerable
time at least without the necessity of adding any other food.

It is considered inferior to timothy as a fodder for horses. This
preference is doubtless owing largely to the fact, first, that clover
breaks up more and loses more leaves when being handled, especially when
being transported; and second, that clover is frequently cured so
imperfectly as to create dust from over-fermentation or through breaking
of the leaves, because of being over-dried, and the dust thus created is
prejudicial to the health of these animals. It tends to produce
"heaves." This may in part be obviated by sprinkling the hay before it
is fed. When clover is properly cured, it is a more nutritious hay than
timothy, and is so far preferable for horses, but since timothy
transports in much better form, it is always likely to be more popular
in the general market than clover. The possibility of feeding clover to
horses for successive years without any evils resulting is made very
apparent from feeding alfalfa thus in certain areas of the West.

Clover hay is specially useful as a fodder for milk-producing animals,
owing to the high protein content which it contains. Dairymen prefer it
to nearly all kinds of fodders grown, and the same is true of shepherds.
When very coarse, however, a considerable proportion of the stems is
likely to be left uneaten, especially by sheep. Because of this it
should be the aim to grow it so that this coarseness of stem will not be
present. This is accomplished, first, by growing it thickly, and second,
by growing the clovers in combination with one another and also with
certain of the grasses.

Clovers are especially helpful in balancing the ration where corn is the
principal food crop grown. The protein of the clover crop aids greatly
in balancing the excess of carbo-hydrates in the corn crop, hence much
attention should be given to the production of clovers in such areas.

=Renewing.=--Because of the comparatively short life of several of the
most useful of the varieties of clover, no attempt is usually made to
renew them when they fail, unless when growing in pasture somewhat
permanent in character. To this, however, there may be some exceptions.
On certain porous soils it has been found possible to maintain medium
red clover and also the mammoth and alsike varieties for several years
by simply allowing some of the seed to ripen in the autumn, and in this
way to re-seed the land, a result made possible through moderate grazing
of the meadow in the autumn, and in some instances through the absence
of grazing altogether, as when the conditions may not be specially
favorable to the growth of clover.

It is not uncommon, however, to renew alfalfa, by adding more seed when
it is disked in the spring, as it sometimes is to aid in removing weeds
from the land. The results vary much with the favorableness of the
conditions for growing alfalfa or the opposite.

In pastures more or less permanent in character, clovers may be renewed
by disking the ground, adding more clover seed, and then smoothing the
surface by running over it the harrow, and in some instances also the
roller. This work is best done when the frost has just left the ground
for a short distance below the surface.

Some kinds of clover are so persistent in their habit of growth that
when once in the soil they remain, and therefore do not usually require
renewal. These include the small white, the yellow, the Japan, burr
clover and sweet clover. In soils congenial to these respective
varieties, the seeds usually remain in the soil in sufficient quantities
to restock the land with plants when it is again laid down to grass.
Nearly all of these varieties are persistent seed producers; hence, even
though grazed, enough seed is formed to produce another crop of plants.

=Clovers as Soil Improvers.=--All things considered, no class of plants
grown upon the farm are so beneficent in the influence which they exert
upon the land as clovers. They improve it by enriching it; they improve
it mechanically; and they aid plant growth by gathering and
assimilating, as it were, food for other plants.

All clovers have the power of drawing nitrogen from the air and
depositing the same in the tubercles formed on the roots of the plants.
These tubercles are small, warty-like substances, which appear during
the growing season. They are more commonly formed on the roots within
the cultivable area, and therefore are easily accessible to the roots of
the plants which immediately follow. Clovers are not equally capable of
thus drawing nitrogen from the air, nor are the same varieties equally
capable of doing this under varying conditions. The relative
capabilities of varieties to thus deposit nitrogen in the soil is by no
means equal, but up to the present time it would seem correct to say
that relative capability in all of these has not yet been definitely
ascertained. With reference to the whole question much has yet to be
learned, but it is now certain that in all, or nearly all, instances in
which clovers are grown on land, they leave it much richer in nitrogen
than it was when they were sown upon the same.

They also add to the fertility of the surface soil by gathering plant
food in the subsoil below where many plants feed. They have much power
to do this, because they are deep rooted and they are strong feeders;
that is, they have much power to take up food in the soil or subsoil.
Part of the food thus gathered in the subsoil helps to form roots in the
cultivable area and part aids in forming top growth for pasture or for
hay. If grazed down or if made into hay and fed so that the manure goes
back upon the land the fertility of the same is increased in all leading
essentials. This increase is partly made at the expense of the fertility
in the subsoil. But the stores of fertility in the subsoil are such
usually as to admit of thus being drawn upon indefinitely.

Clovers improve soils mechanically by rendering them more friable, by
giving them increased power to hold moisture, and by improving drainage
in the subsoil. Of course, they have not the power to do this equally,
but they all have this power in degree and in all the ways that have
been named.

Clovers send down a tap root into the soil and subsoil as they grow.
From the tap roots branch off lateral roots in an outward and downward
direction. From these laterals many rootlets penetrate through the soil.
When the plants are numerous, these roots and rootlets fill the soil.
When it is broken up, therefore, particles of soil are so separated that
they tend to fall apart, hence the soil is always made more or less
friable, even when it consists of the stiffest clays. The shade
furnished by the clover also furthers friability. This friability makes
the land easier to work, and it is also more easily penetrated by the
roots of plants. The influence on aeration is also marked. The air can
more readily penetrate through the interstices in the soil, and, in
consequence, chemical changes in the soil favorable to plant growth are
facilitated.

The roots of clovers are usually so numerous that they literally fill
the soil with vegetable matter. This matter, in process of decay,
greatly increases the power of the soil to hold moisture, whether it
falls from the clouds or ascends from the subsoil through capillary
attraction. The moisture thus held is greatly beneficial to the plants
that immediately follow, especially in a dry season and in open soils,
and the influence thus exerted frequently goes on, though with
decreasing potency, for two, three or four seasons.

Reference has already been made to the tap root which clover sends down
into the soil and subsoil. In the strong varieties this tap root goes
down deeply. When the crop is plowed up, the roots decay, and when they
do, for a time at least, they furnish channels down which the surface
water percolates, if present in excess. Thus it is that clover aids in
draining lands under the conditions named. The channels thus opened do
not close immediately with the decay of the clover roots, hence the
downward movement of water in the soil is facilitated for some time
subsequently.

It has been stated that clovers have more power than some other plants
to gather plant food in the soil. In some instances they literally fill
the soil with their roots. When other plants are sown after the clover
has been broken up they feed richly on the decaying roots of the clover.
Thus it is that clover gathers food for other plants which they would
not be so well able to gather for themselves, and puts it in a form in
which it can be easily appropriated by these. The nitrogen in clover is
yielded up more gradually and continuously as nitrates than it could be
obtained from any form of top dressings that can be given to the land.
In this fact is found one important reason why cereal grains thrive so
well after clover.

Since the roots of clovers act so beneficently on soils, it is highly
important that they be increased to the greatest extent practicable.
Owing to the relation between the growth of the roots of plants and the
parts produced above ground, development in root growth is promoted much
more when the clover is cut for hay than when it is fed off by grazing.
Experiments have also demonstrated that the development of root growth
is much enhanced in medium red clover by taking a second cutting for
hay or seed. They have also demonstrated that more nitrogen is left in
the soil by clover roots after a seed crop than after a crop of hay.

From what has been said, it will be apparent that the extent to which
clovers enrich the soil will depend upon the strength of the growth of
the plants and certain other conditions. It will not be possible to
reduce to figures the additions in plant food which clovers add to the
soil other than in a comparative way. Dr. Voelker has stated that there
is fully three times as much nitrogen in a crop of clover as in the
average produce of the grain and straw of wheat per acre. Dr. Kedzie is
on record as having said that in the hay or sod furnished by a good crop
of clover, there is enough nitrogen for more than four average crops of
wheat, enough phosphoric acid for more than two average crops and enough
of potash for more than six average crops. He has said, moreover, that
the roots and stubble contain fully as much of these elements as hay.

It will also be apparent that where clover grows in good form no cheaper
or better way can be adopted in manuring land, and that in certain areas
the judicious use of land plaster on the clover hastens the renovating
process. It is thought that in some instances the mere loading and
spreading of barnyard manure costs more than the clover and plaster.
Especially will this be true of fields distant from the farm steading.
It is specially important, therefore, that in enriching these, clover
will be utilized to the fullest extent practicable.

=Clover as a Weed Destroyer.=--Where clover is much grown, at least in
some of its varieties, it becomes an aid in reducing the prevalence of
many forms of weed growth. It is thus helpful in some instances, because
of the number of the cuttings secured; in others because of its
smothering tendencies, and in yet others because of the season of the
year when it is sown and harvested or plowed under, as the case may be.

Alfalfa and medium red clover are cut more frequently than the other
varieties and, therefore, because of this, render more service than
these in checking weed growth. The former is cut so frequently as to
make it practically impossible for most forms of annual weed life to
mature seed in the crop. The same is true of biennials and also
perennials. But there are some forms of perennial weeds which multiply
through the medium of their rootstocks that may eventually crowd
alfalfa. Medium red clover is usually cut twice a year, hence, in it
annuals and biennials cannot mature seed, except in exceptional
instances, and because of the short duration of its life, perennials
have not time to spread so as to do much harm.

The clovers that are most helpful in smothering weeds are the mammoth,
the medium and the alsike varieties. These are thus helpful in the order
named. To accomplish such an end they must grow vigorously, and the
plants must be numerous on the ground. When grown thus, but few forms of
weed life can make any material headway in the clover crop. Even
perennials may be greatly weakened, and in some instances virtually
smothered by such growth of clover. To insure a sufficient growth of
clover it may be advantageous to top dress the crop with farmyard manure
sufficiently decayed, and in the case of medium red clover to dress the
second cutting with land plaster. If the second growth is plowed under,
subsequent cultivation of the surface will further aid in completing the
work of destruction.

The crimson variety is sown and also harvested at such a time that the
influence on weed eradication is very marked. The ground is usually
prepared in the summer and so late that weeds which sprout after the
clover has been sown cannot mature the same autumn. In the spring it is
harvested before any weeds can ripen. When plowed under, rather than
harvested, the result is the same.

When clover is grown in short rotations, its power to destroy weeds is
increased. For instance, when the medium red or mammoth varieties are
grown in the three years' rotation of corn or some root crop, followed
by grain seeded with clover, the effects upon weed eradication are very
marked, if the cultivation given to the corn or roots is ample. Under
such a system weeds could be virtually prevented from maturing seeds at
any time, especially if the medium variety of clover were sown, and if
the stubbles were mown some time subsequent to the harvesting of the
grain crop. Such a system of rotation faithfully carried out for a
number of years should practically eradicate all, or nearly all, the
noxious forms of weed life.

=Clover Sickness.=--On certain of the soils of Great Britain and
probably on those of other countries in Europe, where clover has been
grown quite frequently and for a long period, as good crops cannot be
grown as previously, and in some instances the crop is virtually a
failure. The plants will start from seed in the early spring and grow
with sufficient vigor for a time, after which they will show signs of
wilting and finally they die. Various theories were advanced for a time
as to the cause before it was ascertained by experiment what produced
these results. Some thought they arose from lack of water in the soil,
others claimed that they were due to the presence of parasites, which in
some way preyed upon the roots, others again attributed them to improper
soil conditions. It is now just about certain that they arose from a
deficiency of soluble potash in the subsoil. Such, at least, was the
conclusion reached by Kutzleb as the result of experiments conducted
with a view to ascertain the cause of clover wilt.

The cause being known, the remedy is not difficult. It is to grow clover
less frequently on such soils. Sufficient time must be given to enable
more of the inert potash in the subsoil to become available. Another way
would be to apply potash somewhat freely to these soils, and subsoil
them where this may be necessary.

It is thought that clover sickness is as yet unknown in the United
States and Canada, although its presence had sometimes been suspected in
some sections where clover has been much grown. This does not mean that
it may not yet come to this country. Should the symptoms given above
appear on soils on which clover has been grown frequently and for a long
period, it would be the part of wisdom to take such indications as a
hint to grow clover less frequently in the rotation.

=Possible Improvement in Clovers.=--Some close observers have noticed
that there is much lack of uniformity in the plants found growing in an
ordinary field of clover, especially of the medium red and mammoth
varieties. Many of the plants vary in characteristics of stem, leaf,
flower and seed; in the size and vigor of the plants; in the rapidity
with which they grow; and in earliness or lateness in maturing. So great
are these differences that it may be said they run all the way from
almost valueless to high excellence. Here, then, is a wide-open door of
opportunity for improving clover plants through selection. This question
has not been given that attention in the past which its importance
demands.

There may be a difference in view as to all the essential features of
improvement that are to be sought for, but there will probably be
agreement with reference to the following in desirable varieties: 1.
They will have the power to grow quickly and continuously under average
conditions. This power will render them valuable as pasture plants in
proportion as they possess it. 2. They will produce many stems not too
coarse in character. This will affect favorably the character of the hay
and will also have a bearing on increase in the production of seed. 3.
There should be an abundance of leaves. Such production will affect
favorably palatability in the pasture and also in the hay. 4. The
blossoms should be so short that the honey which they contain may be
accessible to the ordinary honey bee. The importance of this
characteristic cannot be easily overestimated. It would not only tend to
a great increase in seed production through the favorable influence
which it would have on fertilization, but it would greatly increase the
honey harvest that would be gathered every year, and 5. They should be
possessed of much vigor and hardihood; that is, they should have much
power to grow under adverse conditions, as of drought and cold. The
person who will furnish a variety of red clover possessed of these
characteristics will confer a boon on American agriculture.

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