When sown in grass or clover mixtures, the amount of the seed required
will vary with the other factors of the mixture, and the amount of each
that is sown; that is, with the character of the hay or pasture that is
sought. The seed is much more frequently sown with timothy than with any
other kind of grass, and the average amount of each of these to sow per
acre may be put at 8 pounds of clover and 6 pounds of timothy. When
other clovers are added, as the mammoth or the alsike, for every pound
of the seed of the former added, the seed of the medium red may be
reduced by one pound, and for every pound of the alsike added it may be
reduced by 1-1/2 pounds. In mixtures for permanent pastures, 6 pounds
may be fixed upon as the maximum quantity of medium red clover seed to
sow, and 3 pounds as the average quantity. When sown to provide green
manure, maximum quantities of seed are used when it is desired to
improve the soil quickly. Usually not less than 12 pounds per acre are
sown, and quite frequently more. But when the gradual improvement of the
land is sought, by sowing the seed on all land devoted to the small
cereal grains, not more than 6 pounds per acre are used, and frequently
even less than 4 pounds. The greater the hazard to the plants in sowing
the seed thus, the less the quantities of the seed that are usually
sown, with a view to reduce the loss in case of failure to secure a
stand of the clover.
A stand of medium red clover is sometimes secured by what may be termed
self-sowing. For instance, where clover has been cut for hay and then
allowed to mature even but a portion of the seed before being plowed
under the same autumn, the seed thus buried remains in the ground
without sprouting. When the land is again plowed to the same depth and
sown with some kind of grain, the clover seed thus brought to the
surface will germinate. If the plowing last referred to is done in the
autumn, it ought to be done late rather than early, lest the seed
should sprout in the autumn and perish in the winter, or be destroyed by
the cultivation given in sowing the grain crop that follows. The same
result may be obtained from clover pastured after the first cutting for
the season, when the pasturing is not close.
When medium red clover is much grown for seed, many of the ripe heads
are not cut by the mower, since they lie near the ground, and many break
off in the curing process. The seed thus becomes so distributed in the
ground, that many plants come up and grow amid the grain every season.
These may, of course, be grazed or plowed under for the enrichment of
the land, as desired. Seed thus buried is, therefore, not lost by any
means. The plants which grow will render much assistance in keeping the
land in a good condition of tilth, as well as in enhancing its
fertility.
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