Meade County news. [volume] (Meade, Kan.) 1900-1918, 1913-09-25

good advantage where alfalfa or red
clover cannot be successfully grown.
There are several varieties of the
crop of which the following are the
most important. White sweet clover,
large yellow sweet clover and the
small yellow annual sweet clover. The
white variety is to be preferred for
growing for farm purposes, although
the larger yellow variety is sometimes
preferred where hay production is de-
sired.
Practically all of the soils in the
state are adapted to growing sweet
clover; poorly drained acid and very
sandy soils excepted. 1t thrives best
on fertile land well supplied with
lime, but will make a satisfactory
growth on very poor soils. When
grown for hay it is best to plant on
fairly fertile land, Where the sweet
clover is to be pastured, it may be
planted on the poorer soil types and
will yield returns that will justify the
growing of this crop upon them.
To seed sweet clover successfully
a thoroughly compacted seed bed is
necessary, with just enough loose
soil on top to enable the seed to be
covered The lack of solid seed bed
is probably the chief reason why
sweet clover so often fails when
seeded upon cultivated fields. Sweet
clover has been seeded successfulls
In Western Kansas by broa1-casting
It on sod land and stirring the top soil
lightly to insure the covering of the
seed. Under natural conditions 1t re.
seeds itself readily on the hard com
pact soils, along roadways, in prairie
sod and vacant lots where the seed
is covered by natural agencies, such
as rains and alternate freezing and
thawing of the ground. Evidently
there is greater danger of having the
seed bed too loose rather than TOO
firm when seeding sweet clover on
cultivated land. If it is necessary to
pillow the ground in preparing it for
sweet clover the blowing should be
done several months before seeding
1t is usally best to seed on corn
ground or after some other intertiled
crop and depend on implements that
merely stir the surface of the soil
to prepare the seed bed
Under natural conditions sweet clio.
yer remains in the ground during the
winter and terminates in the spring,
although occasionally a few geedli"g
plants may be found in the fail u
may be seeded any time from Jan.
uary to the last of May with equal
chances of success.
Rough, wooded, or stony lands that
are untillable can be seeded by SOW
ing the sweet clover broadcast dur
ing the late fall or winter. The seed
will be worked into the grounl by |
the alternate freezing and thawing OF
the ground or washed under by rains.
To produce satisfactory results it
is necessary that sweet clover be in
oculated with the proper bacteria. II
it is not growing along roadsides ami
in fence corners or anywhere else in
the locality in which it is to be seed |
ed or alfalfa is not grown therein, it |
is very likely that inocuIating will be
essential. This may be done by OBJ
tanning soil from an alfalfa field or
ground on which sweet clover is grow
ing and spreading it over the field
which is to be seeded at the rate of
200 to 300 pounds per acre. This in
oculated soil should be narrowed in
Immediately, as exposure to the sun
shine and the drying out of the soil
will kill the bacteria. Best results
can be obtained by applying the soil
on cloudy day. If inoculated soil
is not available within reasonable dis
lance it may be more practical to in
oculate with the pure cultures that
are sold for this purpose. This meth
cd consists of treating the seed with
a pure culture of the proper kind Of
according to directions ac-
the material. The inoc-
ulated seed should be sown after it is
treated and should never be exposed
to the sun.
Fortunately the only portion of
Kansas where 1t would be necessary
to inoculate for sweet clover is In