Crimson clover is often seeded following a grain crop. This is a surer method of establishing a stand than planting between the rows of cultivated crops, provided the seedbed is well prepared. After the grain crop is harvested the soil is plowed or disked and allowed to settle. This is followed by light harrowing or disking to kill weed seedlings. Before the clover is seeded the sod should be firmly packed, because a loose cloddy seedbed will not produce good stands. The seed may be either drilled or broadcast, but drilling will give more uniform stands. =Fertilizers= Good stands and growth cannot be expected on very poor soils. Soil conditions can be improved by adding phosphate and potash fertilizers and manure or by turning under such crops as cowpeas, soybeans, or lespedeza. In many soils of low fertility the use of a complete fertilizer will encourage early seedling growth and establishment. On fertile sods crimson clover may be successfully grown without fertilizer, but on most sods applications of 200 to 400 pounds per acre of phosphate and 50 to 100 pounds of potash pay in obtaining good stands and vigorous growth (fig. 2). [Illustration: Figure 2.--Effect of phosphate application on good soil: Treated (left); untreated (right).] Frequently a single large application of phosphate and potash fertilizer is sufficient to produce two crops of crimson clover before it becomes necessary to make another application. In some soils the addition of such minor elements as boron may improve growth and increase seed yields. Since the need for minor elements varies from place to place, their use should be based on the recommendations of the agricultural experiment station of the State in which the clover is planted. =Seed Sources and Varieties= Before World War II more than half the crimson clover seed used in the United States was imported, principally from Hungary and France. Since 1938 domestic production has rapidly increased, reaching more than 18 million pounds in 1942. Tennessee produced more than half the home supply. Nearly all the crimson clover may be called common crimson clover, since it does not represent strains or varieties having special characteristics. White-flower strains and several others that differ slightly in maturity have been selected but have not been used. =Dixie Crimson Clover= Dixie crimson clover is a new hard-seeded variety that has given promising results in extensive trials. It is more widely adapted than common crimson clover, as it grows well in the Gulf coast section and appears to be slightly more winter-hardy than common crimson. Dixie has successfully volunteered to good stands when grown in pastures with Bermuda grass, with small grains for grazing, and in rotation with such cultivated crops as sorghum or late-planted corn.