t it may be cut with a
mower. When cut by either method the sheaves should be made small, so
that they will dry out quickly.
It is important that the crop shall be threshed before it is rained on,
as one thorough wetting will so far bedim the attractive brightness as
compared with seed that has not been rained on that it will considerably
discount the price that would otherwise be obtained for it. It is
usually threshed with a huller, but may also be threshed like the medium
red variety by a grain separator with a suitable attachment.
The yields of the seed vary much. Instances are on record where as much
as 11 or 12 bushels per acre have been reaped, but ordinarily even on
good producing soils the yields are not more than 4 to 5 bushels per
acre, and under ordinary conditions for the production of mammoth clover
they are even less than the amount named. Notwithstanding the greater
strength of the plants, the seeds are apparently no larger than those of
the medium red variety, nor can they be distinguished from them unless
by an expert.
=Renewing.=--Much that has been said with reference to the renewing of
medium red clover will apply equally to the renewing of the mammoth.
(See page 109.) Where seed crops are much grown, the soil becomes so
impregnated with the seed that more or less of the plants will appear
any season. Renewal in the South is more important, relatively, than in
the North, as under some conditions the plants survive for a longer
period in Southern soils.
=Compared with Medium Red Clover.=--1. The mammoth is larger and coarser
than the medium red and is considerably less erect in its habit of
growth. It has larger and longer roots; hence, it goes down more deeply
into the subsoil in search of food.
2. It is, on the whole, longer lived than the medium red variety and has
greater power to grow in a sandy soil and under conditions in which
moisture is not plentiful.
3. It provides more pasture than the medium red variety during the early
part of the season, but not so much after harvest, the season of growth
being less continuous then than with the former.
4. The hay which it furnishes is usually considerably more bulky and
coarse, and because of this it is not so highly prized by stock.
5. It blooms about three weeks later than the medium red variety and
remains a little longer in bloom and seeds more freely, but can only be
cut once in a season.
6. It furnishes more green food for pl
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