Place In The Rotation

Since white clover is usually not sown for

meadow, but is rather sown for pasture, it can scarcely be called a

rotation plant in the strict sense of the term; and yet, because of the

extent to which it grows when it has once obtained a footing in soils,

it is more or less frequent in all rotations in which grass or clover is

one of the factors. As it usually comes into the grass pastures, when

these have become established, it will occupy about the same place as

blue grass in rotations; that is to say, whatever would be proper to sow

after the blue grass would be proper to sow after this plant; since the

two usually unite in making the same sod. It will, therefore, be in

order to follow this plant with corn to feed upon the nitrogen furnished

by the clover. The same will be true of any small cereal that has

special adaptation for being grown on overturned sod, as for instance,

flax or oats, or of any crop that revels in the decay of vegetable

matter, more especially in the early stages of such decay, as, for

instance, potatoes and rape. When white clover is sown on land that is

cultivated, though only sown as a factor in a pasture crop, as with all

other clovers it may best be sown on land that is clean; that is, on

land on which the preceding crop has been cultivated to the extent of

securing a clean surface on the same. If, however, this crop must needs

be sown on land that has not been thus cleaned, its great inherent

hardihood will enable it to establish itself where some clovers and

grasses would fail.



It is common to sow white clover on land from which the forest has

recently been removed, also on natural prairie, where it has not

previously grown. In these instances it simply follows the crop of

forest in the one case and of native prairie in the other. But it will

not take possession of the land in either case to the exclusion of other

grasses.