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Show SWEET CLOVER IS NOT WEED ' Rank Growth Is Mowed Down and Used as Mulch Around Orchard Tress, Adding Nitrogen. Sweet clover, a much-condemned plant, is at last coming Into Its own. ' For years farmers have looked upon It aa an obnoxious weed and Its native habitat bas bwn neglected roadsides and waste lands. Now agricultural ' arlence is beginning to see great possibilities pos-sibilities In this plant It Is highly recommended as a green manuring ' crop, and In Kentucky and Illinois sor.ie farmers are growing It In the place of alfalfa aa a feed for live stock. Several of tbe experiment sta tlons are making a study of Its culture cul-ture and use. There are two varieties varie-ties of the sweet clover, or melllotus, ss It Is lightly called, the white and the yellow. Tbe white makes a ranker growth and Is recommended for plowing under as a green manure, while the yellow Is grown for forage. The farmers of tbe eastern and southern states are making the greatest use of this crop, especially for renovating wornout lands. On leading seed Arm In Ohio reports thai the demand for melllotus seed haa In creased 125 per cent during the last year. The seed sells at the aame price as alfalfa seed, ft will grow oa nearly any kind of land and aa aver age crops of seed la about ten bushels per acre. Prof. V. M. Davis of the college of agriculture. Ohio Bute university. Is growing white sweet clover aa a cover crop In his orchards. Tba rank growth la mowed down aad used aa a mulch around the trees. Being a 1 game, nitrogen Is added to the soil throngs, the actio of the bacteria growtag aa tha roots at the plant, and tbe decay af the crop aappliea Largs IstaaUUea af ham us. |