Crimson clover is usually sown between August 15 and October 1, the general rule being to plant about 60 days before the first killing frost is expected. South of Virginia crimson clover can be seeded as late as November 1, although if planted late more seed should be used and a light dressing of nitrate of soda applied, in order to stimulate the young plants. Seeding earlier than August 1 is seldom advisable unless the crop is sown with some other crop the shade of which will hold it back.

The exact date of planting depends almost entirely upon the moisture content of the soil. The principal condition to avoid is planting when the soil contains just enough moisture to germinate the seeds, but not enough to keep the plants growing. Usually it is better to plant when the soil is quite dry than when it is slightly moist, for in dry soil the seeds, if properly buried, lie without germinating and are ready to grow vigorously at the first rainfall. The most favorable time for seeding is just before or just after a good rain, when the soil is moist enough to form a ball in the hand.

RATE OF SEEDING.

The ordinary rate of seeding crimson clover is 15 pounds per acre, although the rate varies according to conditions. From 12 to 15 pounds per acre are usually sufficient when growing the crop for seed or when the soil is unusually rich. On poor soil, dry soil, or on soil which has not previously produced crimson clover 18 to 22 pounds of seed give better assurance of a stand. Heavy seeding is also desirable when planting late in the season or when a heavy crop is wanted for green manure early in the spring.

Theoretically, 2 pounds of seed per acre would provide six plants for every square foot, which is a satisfactory stand. Under ordinary circumstances, however, it is necessary to allow for some of the seed being too deep, or too shallow, or failing to germinate, and for a certain percentage of winterkilling. It is also well to have a fairly thick stand of the young plants, so that the ground may be well covered during the early fall and thus prevent soil washing and the growth of winter weeds.

METHODS OF SEEDING.

The most common method of seeding crimson clover in intertilled crops is to scatter the seed broadcast with a rotary seeder or by hand. (Fig. 6.) In order to place the seed on a fresh, moist seed bed it is commonly broadcasted immediately behind the cultivator at the last cultivation and is covered 'at once by a second cultivator. In tall corn the seed may be sown from horseback, the ears of the horse being covered with small bags to prevent the entrance of the flying seed. Slightly more seed is required when seeding in tall corn, as some seed catches in the corn plants. When seeding in cotton care must be taken to avoid injury to the opening bolls, which are easily knocked off or torn. This is best done by seeding by hand, covering the seed with a piece of brush dragged down the rows.

In low-growing truck crops and on fallow ground crimson clover can be seeded with a wheelbarrow seeder. This implement distributes the seed more evenly than can be done by hand or with the rotary seeder, especially when planting a mixture of crops. The wheelbarrow seeder being somewhat awkward to handle is better adapted to smooth, level fields than to hillsides.

Probably the very best method of seeding crimson clover is with the special clover or alfalfa drill. Where enough clover is grown to warrant its use this implement is to be highly recommended. The seed is sown in 4-inch rows at just the proper depth and with the right pressure, and the fertilizer is placed exactly under each row, where it will be immediately available to the seedlings. Drilled clover requires less seed than broadcasted clover and produces a more even and certain stand.

In place of the special clover drill an ordinary grain drill equipped with a clover-seed attachment can be used with good results. Special spouts should be arranged to lead from the clover-seed box back of the shoes or disks, in order to deposit the seed directly in the furrow. Chain furrow closers are best for covering the seed, as they leave the furrows broad and flat instead of V shaped and lessen the danger of the seedlings being covered with soil during a hard rain.

For use in intertilled crops there are several types of 1-row drills, the best for this purpose being the 5-hoe drill equipped with press wheels.

Crimson-clover seed must be covered, but not too deeply. In most soils it is not enough to depend on rain to effect a covering. An inch in sandy soils and half an inch in clay soils appear to be about the right depth. Shallow planting gives the best results in wet seasons and deep planting in time of drought. Broadcasted seed should be covered with a spike-tooth harrow or a weeder rather than a heavy harrow or a shovel cultivator. A harrow made of fairly stiff brush is often useful in loose soil.

CHOICE OF SEED.

As a rule, fresh crimson-clover seed is of good viability, and failure to secure a stand is not often caused by failure of the seed to grow. Unlike most clovers, crimson-clover seed absorbs water readily and sprouts quickly. There are practically none of the hard seeds which are so frequent in red clover and sweet clover, and a germination of 90 per cent in 48 hour's is not uncommon. The seed deteriorates rapidly, however, and when more than 2 years old rarely shows a germination in excess of 50 per cent. Sometimes, when stocks of commercial seed are low, old seed finds its way to the market, and this, when planted, gives poor results. Old seed can usually be detected by the dull-brown appearance of the seed coat as contrasted with the bright, shiny, pinkish or greenish yellow color of fresh seed. Brown seed, however, is sometimes caused by weathering during harvest, and such seed is not objectionable unless the weathering has been excessive.

A common impurity in crimson-clover seed is green, shrunken, and immature seed, caused by harvesting the crop before it is ripe. Crimson-clover seed does not germinate readily until it takes on a yellowish tinge; therefore, green seed should be rejected.

Crimson-clover seed is larger and plumper than red-clover seed and if properly cleaned should not contain seeds of dodder or the smaller seeded weeds. Frequently, however, it does contain the seeds of field peppergrass, yellow trefoil, evening primrose, sheep sorrel, wild geranium, buttercups, mustards, and other weeds which blossom in early summer.

UNHULLED SEED.

There is a growing belief among farmers that they are less likely to lose a stand of crimson clover through drought if they sow the seed in the hull rather than use the hulled seed as it ordinarily appears on the market. It is claimed that the hulls hold the moisture to some extent and carry the seedlings over the critical day or two following germination, while some farmers assert that the unhulled seeds require more moisture for germination, and the seeds therefore do not sprout until there is enough moisture in the soil to keep the plants growing. Unhulled seed is bulky and is not often handled by commercial seedsmen, although one large grower sells the unhulled seed in compressed, bales similar to small cotton bales. It usually can be secured from neighboring farmers, however, or is easily saved at home. The seed can be harvested with a stripper from the standing crop in the field or the mature crop can be cut and thrashed like an ordinary grain crop. For local planting on a small scale unhulled seed is the cheapest and most accessible form of crimson-clover seed.

Unhulled seed is somewhat difficult to sow, because the hairy hulls stick together in masses and can not be scattered uniformly. To avoid this trouble the seed may be mixed with moistened earth or with lime, or may be sown with a blower similar to those used on small forges. A better plan is to sow on a windy day, throwing the seed vertically into the air and allowing the wind to scatter it.

Of unhulled seed of the best quality, 100 pounds contains about 1 bushel (60 pounds) of clean seed. The common grades, however, are usually more chaffy and require 120 to 180 pounds to make a bushel. From 2 to 3 pounds of unhulled seed are therefore regarded as equivalent to 1 pound of hulled seed. A bushel of unhulled seed, even when well packed down, weighs only 6 to 10 pounds and contains about 4 pounds of seed. The appearance of both hulled and unhulled crimson-clover seed is shown in figure 7.

USE OF A NURSE CROP.

In order to protect the crimson-clover seedlings from the hot sun of late August it is a common practice in some sections to plant with the clover a small quantity of some quick-growing crop like buckwheat, cowpeas, rape, or turnips. A thin stand of these heavier leaved plants furnishes an ideal shade for the young clover, and on soils which are inclined to bake it prevents the formation of a crust. The nurse crop must be seeded lightly, usually not more than half the regular rate, as the ordinary stand shades the ground so completely as to destroy the crimson clover. On hot clay soil in the Piedmont region the chances of obtaining a stand of clover are about twice as good with a nurse crop as without one.

Buckwheat is the principal nurse crop northward from Washington, D. C. A common rate of seeding is 2 to 3 pecks of buckwheat in 15 pounds of crimson clover. If the planting can be made in July the buckwheat usually has time to ripen before frost and thus pay the cost of starting both stands.

In the cotton belt cowpeas have been used successfully, especially when seeding on fallow ground. They are seeded broadcast at the rate of one-half bushel per acre. There is ordinarily not enough time for the cowpeas to mature, but they add to the value of the stand for fall pasturage and protect the clover from severe weather in the winter. Both cowpeas and buckwheat have the merit of being able to grow on poor soil.

Dwarf Essex rape has been used as a nurse crop in a few cases where the clover was to be pastured by hogs or sheep in the fall. From 2 to 3 pounds of rape, sown in August, furnishes sufficient cover for a nurse crop. Cowhorn turnips, winter kale, and mustard are also satisfactory nurse crops if planted at a rate not exceeding 1 pound of seed per acre. If the clover is to be saved for seed these latter crops are objectionable, as a few plants will live over winter and ripen at the same time as the clover.

Where a nurse crop can not be grown conveniently, the crimson-clover seedlings can be protected from the sun by a light top-dressing of straw, spread just after the seed is sown.

SEED MIXTURES.

Crimson clover is frequently grown in combination with winter grain, hairy vetch, or other forage crops having a similar period of growth. The mixed crop is less liable to lodge than the single crop, cures more readily in damp weather, and usually furnishes a heavier yield. Another advantage of the mixed crop is that if either should fail the other will serve as a cover crop during the winter and bring some return the following spring. Mixed crops are not desirable if the clover is to be saved for seed.

South of central Virginia crimson clover is usually grown in combination with winter oats. An early variety of oats, such as the Fulghum, or a late variety of clover, such as the white blooming, is usually the best, as the oat crop matures somewhat later than the ordinary crimson clover. The customary rate of seeding is 15 pounds of the clover and 2½ bushels of oats per acre. In Delaware and eastern Maryland the most popular companion crop for crimson clover is winter wheat, although barley makes a desirable hay crop and is sometimes used. Eye is not desirable for hay, but it is probably the best of the grains for green manure, as it is hardy, vigorous, and starts growth early in the spring. Rye and wheat are seeded at the rate of 1 bushel per acre with the customary quantity of crimson clover. The accompanying illustration (fig. 8) shows a field seeded to a mixture of crimson clover and wheat. Usually the grain is well headed, but in the milk or soft-dough stage, when the clover is ready to cut, the yield of the mixed crimson clover and grain is often 25 to 50 per cent greater than that of the clover alone.

Hairy vetch and crimson clover are sometimes grown together, seeding at the rate of 20 pounds and 10 pounds per acre, respectively. As both these plants are likely to lodge in good soil, however, one of the grains is usually included, a common seeding mixture being oats 2 bushels, hairy vetch 12 to 15 pounds, and crimson clover 5 pounds. Bur clover, black medic, and other winter-growing legumes are sometimes found in mixtures with crimson clover, although such mixtures generally occur by accident rather than intent. Black medic and crimson clover make' a particularly good combination on rich soil.

In most of the crimson-clover area the cultivated grasses, such as timothy, redtop, and orchard grass, are not commonly grown. However, where these grasses flourish they may well be seeded at the same time as the crimson clover, provided the latter is planted not earlier than September 15. In some sections Johnson grass and Bermuda grass make useful combinations with crimson clover, the grasses making most of their growth in the summer and the clover in the fall and spring.