hat
followed in sowing medium red clover (see page 78); that is to say, it
may be sown by hand machines, with a grass-seeder attachment to the
grain drill, or with the ordinary tubes of the grain drill and along
with the grain. The seed is very small, and, consequently, may not admit
of being buried so deeply as medium red clover, but in the open soils of
the prairie it will sometimes succeed as well sown along with the grain
as when buried less deeply, but in many soils the roller will provide a
sufficient covering. Especially is this true in climates that are moist.

Alsike clover has special adaptation for being sown along with timothy
and red top on slough soils, and soils made up of rich deposit. It
matures about the same time as these grasses. They support the slender
stems of the alsike, and in doing so prevent lodging more or less. This
greatly improves the quality of the hay. The more numerous the plants in
those mixtures, the finer also will be the quality of the hay. If but
two varieties are wanted in the mixture, ordinarily these two should be
alsike clover and timothy. Both furnish hay of excellent quality; hence,
when the proportion of alsike is not too large, such hay sells readily
to dairymen who have to purchase fodder.

Although this clover does not mature until three to four weeks later
than the medium red, nevertheless, it may be well to add the latter to
the timothy and alsike clover mixture. When these are thus sown in due
balance, the first cutting will be mainly red clover, after which there
will be but little of the red present. But the medium red clover will
add much to the pasture after the first cutting for hay. Subsequently,
the hay crop will usually consist of alsike and timothy. Alsike clover
along with timothy may also be sown with mammoth clover, since the two
mature about the same time. But the mammoth variety will monopolize the
ground while the first hay crop is being produced. The advantage from
sowing the seed thus lies chiefly in prolonging the period of clover
production along with timothy grown chiefly for hay. It is not wise,
usually, to sow alsike clover alone for hay, owing to its tendency to
lodge. In the South it is frequently sown with red top and orchard
grass, especially the latter. It fills in the spaces between the plants
in the orchard grass, and in so doing adds much to the hay or to the
pasture.

There may be conditions in which it would be advisable to sow alsike