imson clover would seem to depend more
upon latitude than upon any other influence. North of the Ohio River it
should seldom be sown later than September 1st, lest the growth of the
plants should not be strong enough to endure the winter weather. Nor
should it be sown earlier than July 1st, lest the plants should reach
the blooming stage without having made a sufficient growth, an objection
which applies to sowing earlier than July 1st in any part of the United
States. All things considered, August is the most favorable month for
sowing the seed north of the Ohio and Potomac rivers. In the South,
sowing at a later period is preferable. In the latitude of Tennessee,
September would usually prove more suitable for sowing than an earlier
date, and near the Gulf, October. But it may be sown earlier and later
in these respective latitudes. It is a good time to sow the seed in much
of the South when the autumn rains begin to come, and the same is true
of the Puget Sound country.

The seed may be sown by hand, by the aid of hand machines, by some makes
of grain drills in the same way as grain is sown, and by others with a
grass-seeder attachment. When sown by the latter, the seed should
usually be allowed to fall before the grain tubes to aid in securing a
covering for it; the covering thus provided should be supplemented by
additional harrowing and in some instances rolling. When sown by hand or
by hand machines on soils East and South, the roller should in many
instances follow and then the harrow, but on cloddy surfaces the harrow
should be used first and then the roller. No method of sowing the seed
is more satisfactory than that which sows it by grain drills, which can
deposit it in the soil as grain is sown, as it is then buried at an even
depth. Sowing to a medium depth, say, 1/2 to 1-1/2 inches, is preferable
to either extreme.

Whether it is advisable to sow a nurse crop will depend upon conditions.
When the seed is sown early, in hot weather the young plants are helped
by more or less of shade. Such shade is usually provided by the other
factor or factors of the mixture. But when shade only is wanted from the
nurse crop, a thin seeding of buckwheat has been found to answer. Melons
and tomatoes have in some instances furnished shade satisfactorily, and
in others upright growing varieties of cow peas or soy beans. The less
complete the preparation of the seed-bed, the greater also is the
necessity for shade. In orchar