Winter legumes are annual plants of the legume family that complete their development during the fall, winter and spring. Tho they sometimes make considerable growth during the fall, they rarely do more than become well established and make a good ground cover.  During late winter, as the weather becomes favorable for growth, they begin rapid development that is completed by late spring or early summer.

Members of this group of legumes known to be of agricultural value in Kentucky are crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum), low hop clover (Trifolium procumbens), white clover (Trifolium repens),¹ and hairy or winter vetch (Vicia villosa). Members of this group about which little is known regarding their agricultural possibilities in Kentucky are black medic (Medicago lupulina), least hop clover (Trifolium dubium), Austrian winter pea (Pisum arvense), bur clovers (Medicago sp.), and button clover (Medicago orbicularis). It appears that the latter group may be suited to southwest Kentucky, but until more is known regarding its adaptability to this section, only small acreages for testing purposes should be sown. The farmer who is not inclined to experiment should confine his selection of winter legumes to the first group.

In general, soil treatment and cultural practices are similar for the production of each of these crops.

Soil treatment.— Despite the fact that most of these legumes are fairly well adapted to rather poor soil, it should be limed and fertilized for them in so far as possible. Not only will these crops themselves respond profitably, but those that follow will also benefit,— directly from the residual effects of the treatments, and indirectly from the effects of the better legume growth. Land therefore should be limed at the rate of 2 to 3 tons of limestone to the acre, unless it has been recently treated or unless some crop is to follow the legume that might be injured by liming. Phosphate should be applied to all soil outside the Bluegrass region that has not been liberally treated recently, at the rate of 200 pounds or more of 20-percent superphosphate to the acre, or with an equivalent amount of some other carrier of phosphorus. The materials should be applied several months ahead of seeding if practical.

Preparation of seedbed.— The seedbed preparation needed ranges from plowing, or disking, and harrowing in preparation for winter vetch, Austrian winter peas, and bur clover in the hull, to very little harrowing for the smaller-seeded species. In fact, no seedbed need be prepared, on stubble or thin sodland for the latter group. Heavy sods must be grazed, disked, or clipped and the material on top of the ground removed, else the seedlings will be smothered.

Method of seeding.— Seeds must be evenly distributed. Seed drills and wheelbarrow seeders do the work satisfactorily. Hand-seeders when carefully operated also sow uniformly. Hand broadcasting is adequately done only by one skilled at it. Perhaps all seed sown broadcast, whether by mechanical seeders or by hand, should be divided, half being sown in one direction and half in the other.
   Crimson clover, winter vetch and Austrian winter peas, tho frequently sown alone with excellent results, should generally be seeded with a small grain or perhaps Italian ryegrass. Other winter legumes should always be sown in a sod, in Kentucky. These various small-grain-legume or grass-legume mixtures control erosion better than the legume alone, and they undoubtedly are more winter hardy, especially if seeded late. Nitrogen fixed by the legume is more largely conserved if a small grain or grass is grown with the legume. The mixture produces a better pasture than either crop by itself. It appears, therefore, that the winter legumes should seldom be sown alone.
   Bur clover in the hull is best sown broadcast and harrowed in.  The smaller seeded species need not be harrowed in unless the seedbed is very fine. If the soil is dry, run a cultipacker over the field before and after sowing. Winter vetch and Austrian winter peas should be covered to a depth of 2 or 2½ inches; therefore they should be sown in a specially prepared seedbed with a grain drill, if possible, rather than broadcast and disked or harrowed in. If winter vetch or Austrian winter peas are to be sown with a small grain or Italian ryegrass, the respective seeds may be mixed and sown at the same time. If drilled separately, the legumes should be sown ahead of the small grain. Crimson clover in mixture with small grain or ryegrass may be sown thru the grass-seed attachment of the grain drill at the time the grain or ryegrass is sown or sown broadcast afterwards.  Crimson clover secd should not be covered with more than ½ inch of soil. Small seeded legumes, sown in pastures, will usually make good stands if the grass is mowed or grazed to a height of 2 inches or less before the seed is disked in, but large seeded legumes will not make good stands unless the sod is disked somewhat before sowing.

Small grains with which the legumes are seeded should be sown at 4 to 6 pecks to the acre. The lighter rates are preferred for early seeding; the heavier for late seeding. Apparently about 15 pounds of Italian ryegrass seed to the acre is sufficient for the ryegrass-winter legume mixture. It is not easy to sow a small amount of seed uniformly; therefore, unless a mechanical seeder that operates successfully at light seeding rates is used, thoroly mix the seed with fine sand or other suitable inert material to increase the bulk.

Winter legumes may be seeded from about August 5 to October 15. The best date varies with sections of the state and with the legume.  Generally speaking, seeding dates in southern and western Kentucky are 10 to 15 days later than in northern and eastern Kentucky. Because winter vetch, white clover, hop clover, and black medic are quite winter hardy they may be sown late, tho early sowing ensures more growth before winter. Crimson clover is slightly less winter hardy; therefore it ought not to be sown so late that it cannot make a good growth before winter, tho small plants in sod or winter grain seldom winterkill. Preferred dates for seeding the winter legumes under various conditions in different parts of Kentucky are shown in the table on page 2.

Inoculation.— All winter legume seed, except that of bur clover in the hull, should be inoculated shortly before seeding on land for the first time, unless a good crop of another species of legume carrying the effective nodule organism has recently occupied the land. Inoculation is most conveniently done with good commercial cultures if the manufacturer’s directions are carefully followed. Soil methods are also effective. These consist in obtaining soil from a field that has grown a good crop of a legume affected by the desired organism. This soil is broadcast over the field at the rate of 200 pounds to the acre and worked into the soil or, more conveniently, partly dried, pulverized, screened, and mixed with the seed until particles of it stick to each seed. Slightly moistening the seed before mixing helps the soil to stick to the seed. If necessary, the seed should then be dried sufficiently to prevent swelling, and sown within 2 or 3 days.

Uses.— Winter legumes as a group are of value in Kentucky principally for soil improvement and conservation, and for winter and spring pasture. Generally speaking, they serve these three purposes at the same time, yielding immediate returns in livestock production and later profits in improved yields of crops. By relieving the permanent pasture of early overgrazing, winter legumes give the farmer high production from it.

Some of these crops may undoubtedly be harvested profitably for seed and a few may be made into hay, but the weather is frequently so unfavorable for hay making at the time they should be harvested that they are better used otherwise. Summer legumes are much more satisfactory for making into hay.

If used wholly as green-manure crops, they should be plowed under only when in condition to produce beneficial effects. The time will be before the mass is too large or too woody to become incorporated properly in the soil. Generally speaking, plow them under when 18 inches tall or less, and at least two weeks before the next crop is seeded.

Insect pests and diseases.— Insects rarely, if ever, seriously injure any of the winter legumes, and diseases apparently are unimportant except on crimson clover, tho some damage may be done to most of them by organisms that cause stems to become black and, when severe, to drop their leaves.

Crimson clover is an erect, pubescent, many-stemmed plant that is especially distinguished from the other legumes by its long, numerous, compact heads of crimson flowers.

This clover possesses several good qualities that make it, in Kentucky, the most generally useful of the winter legumes. The cost of seeding an acre is usually among the lowest of the crops, and the seed is easily sown. It stands pasturing well and without much wasting of leaves and stems; is adapted to medium productive soil as well as to the best soil; is palatable, nutritious, and quite productive of pasture and seed. The crop, however, has some objectionable qualities that have prevented its more general use in Kentucky. Perhaps the most serious of these is the rather frequent loss of stands in the seedling stage.  This happens because the seed germinates quickly; consequently, seedings made on a dry soil germinate with the first shower that wets the surface, only to perish because of insufficient moisture in the subsurface. Furthermore, stands from late seedings are likely to die during the winter unless the winter is mild and not conducive to heaving. If, however, the late seeding is made in a sod or with a small grain or with Italian ryegrass, the stands seem to be sufficiently protected by the companion crop to survive even severe winters.

Crimson clover is a good cover, pasture, and green-manure crop


Small grain and crimson clover grow well together, protect the soil, and make excellent pasture.

The practice of seeding crimson clover in permanent pastures appears to be increasing in favor and has much to recommend it. Earlier grazing is made possible in the spring, and the clover has a beneficial effect upon the grass that increases the summer and fall pasturage.  Apparently, there seldom is appreciable smothering of the grass by the clover, tho the possibility should be considered and the clover clipped and removed whenever it is impossible to graze a very heavy growth in the spring.

Crimson clover makes sufficiently good growth in Kentucky on soil of medium productivity to justify its use even when it is impossible to apply lime and fertilizer. However, the crop responds so favorably to the soil treatments suggested on page 3 that it is worth while to go to considerable expense to make them.

Hulled or unhulled seed.— Practically all crimson clover seed sown in Kentucky is hulled, but some unhulled seed is used even tho it is more troublesome to obtain and more difficult to sow. Unhulled seed has one advantage that recommends its use—it requires more moisture for germination than is supplied by a shower of rain. Therefore, when sown on a dry soil, it does not germinate until sufficient rain has fallen to sustain the seedlings. It seems, however, that the general availability and ease of sowing are such outstanding advantages in favor of hulled seed that it doubtless will always be the outstanding choice of farmers in general. For sowing in permanent pastures the hulled seed seems to be superior to unhulled seed, and for most other seeding it is as good or better, except when weather conditions are unfavorable, as previously mentioned.
   Recommended seeding practices are discussed on page 4.

A mixture of Italian ryegrass and crimson clover prevents erosion and makes good grazing.

Use.— Crimson clover is valuable primarily for soil improvement and pasture. Usually a stand serves both purposes. For pasture it is especially prized because of its rapid growth, excellent palatability, and high nutritive value. It is likely to cause bloating of cattle and sheep, especially if they are turned on it when hungry and without salt and water readily at hand.

Crimson clover makes good hay when cut in early bloom and well cured. If it is to be fed to horses or mules it must be cut before any heads become brown; otherwise “hair balls” formed in the intestines from certain parts of these mature flowers may kill the animals.

Some crimson clover is harvested for seed in Kentucky, and the tendency is to increase the acreage used for that purpose. It is not difficult to harvest, tho careful handling of the crop is required to prevent shattering of the seed. The crop should be cut with a field mower a few days after the last heads become brownish. Unless the crop is lodged, it is desirable to cut high in order to reduce the amount of material that has to be handled. To avoid excessive shattering of the seed, mowing should be done while dew is on the plants, and the material as cut should be bunched or windrowed by special attachments on the cutter bar of the mowing machine. In taking the crop to the huller or to storage to await hulling, it should be handled little and carefully, and hauled on a wagon with a tight bottom.

Harvesting crimson clover seed

The seed may be hulled satisfactorily with a clover-seed huller or grain threshing machine equipped with special hulling concaves and screens. The small combine harvester also successfully threshes crimson clover.

Seed intended for home use may be saved in the hull. Usually this is most easily done by harvesting the heads with a comb stripper made by constructing a “comb” on an open side of a shallow box.  The teeth for the comb are made of hard wood pointed at one end.  In cross section the teeth are narrower on the lower than on the upper side. In making large strippers the unpointed ends are fastened with screws to the top side of a plank or heavy board, with the pointed ends at right angles to the edge of the board. This board and teeth make the “comb.” In making hand strippers the teeth are sawed in the board that forms the bottom of the stripper (see drawing on page 11). The teeth should be ¼ inch apart. Dimensions of the parts of the comb will vary depending upon the size of the stripper.  For the smallest strippers the teeth should be 1 inch wide. Larger sizes will require broader teeth because they are longer and must be made stronger. The length of the teeth varies from 10 inches or less in hand strippers to 18 inches or more in the large ones which are swung between two wheels and drawn by mule or horse. The large strippers should be supported so as to permit adjustment to height above ground and tilting to accommodate the teeth to varying heights of clover. The shafts of the implement should be long enough to allow hitching the mule or horse well ahead of the comb.

Plans for making a comb stripper for crimson clover seed

The ordinary hand stripper for bluegrass seed has been used successfully to harvest crimson clover seed after the sides of the teeth have been cut off sufficiently to make a space of ¼ inch between them.  Doubtless the pan stripper could be used if similarly modified, tho perhaps the teeth are too short to permit fast operation.

Disease.— Crimson clover is frequently injured somewhat, and occasionally seriously, by crown or stem rot (Sclerotinia trifoliorum) The disease kills plants during mild winter weather and during the spring. Crowns of the dead plants may be lifted readily from the taproct, and more or less spherical but irregularly shaped white to black masses may be found in and about many of the dead crowns and taproots. These bodies are conclusive evidence of the disease.  There is no practical remedy for it, nor can it be prevented by any known method. Fortunately the disease rarely destroys the entire stand, and only infrequently reduces it seriously. Even when the disease is quite prevalent in a field, enough plants usually survive to produce a good covering.

Of the three hop clovers, only the one known as low hop clover is common in Kentucky. This somewhat leafy plant grows erect and branches much if not crowded. Its yellow flowers are rather loosely arranged in small but conspicuous heads of much the same shape as red clover. The flowers, however, droop on maturity. Usually its height is between 6 and 10 inches, but it varies from 3 to 18 inches or more, depending upon moisture and soil productivity. The plant is inconspicuous during fall and winter, but during the spring it becomes very noticeable because of its abundant bloom. Only the low hop clover is considered in this discussion, tho it applies almost equally to the smaller, somewhat less productive and less common least hop clover (Trifolium dubium).

Soil.— Hop clover seems to be one of the least sensitive legumes to low soil productivity, but like other worth-while legumes it is much benefited by soil treatment and makes its best development on good ground.

Observed grazing indicates that the palatability of hop clover more than of any other pasture legume varies from season to season.  Livestock graze it readily in some years but largely avoid it in others.  It seems to be quite nutritious, however. Like other pasture legumes it has a beneficial effect on yield and nutritive qualities of the grasses in the pasture; consequently there is no objection and much advantage to its presence in a pasture even in those seasons when it is little grazed, despite the fact that in such seasons it adds to the problem of pasture management.

Hop clover undoubtedly has a large place in Kentucky as a permanent-pasture legume. It is the only winter legume that maintains itself well on soil too poor for white clover, which is the only other legume found abundantly in permanent pastures during winter and spring. Hop clover, therefore, must be depended upon for the winter-legume portion of permanent pastures over a large part of Kentucky.  Tho the plant is widely distributed, it is not sufficiently plentiful in most of those pastures to improve their productivity. It should be included in permanent pasture mixtures and sown generally in the established permanent pastures of the state, especially in southern and western parts.

Use.— As previously indicated, this legume is of great value in pastures. It is not a simple matter, however, to manage them always so that the clover recurs regularly, especially pastures of heavy sods, because the grass must be fairly short during fall and early winter to prevent smothering the legume seedlings. This is best avoided by close grazing, but sometimes it is necessary to clip and remove the excess herbage. The hop clover, in turn, should be prevented, by grazing or clipping, from becoming rank enough during the spring to smother the grasses and other kinds of pasture plants, including Korean and other annual lespedezas.

Hop clover does not seem to produce bloating, but it causes horses and mules to slobber if they graze it much after the seed has matured.

Because of hop clover’s usual short growth it is seldom practicable to make hay of it, tho a heavy growth of mixed grass and hop clover in a pasture will make a considerable yield of good hay, and the pasture will be better for its removal, provided it is not cut closer than average hay stubble. This hay is valuable to supplement reduced pasturage during periods of drouth.

Unpastured stands of hop clover and excess growth of it may be harvested for seed by cutting with a mower and threshing or hulling when dry. For home use, the material may be scattered thinly over pastures in which it is desired to get a start of the crop.

White clover, or Dutch clover, generally behaves as a perennial on productive soil in Kentucky. However, it usually grows so much better during cool weather, especially in the spring, than in summer that for practical purposes it may be considered a winter legume in this state.

White clover is a smooth, leafy, essentially white-flowered plant with wholly prostrate stems that root at the nodes. It acquires its name from the color of its flowers which, tho mostly white, are often tinted with pink or purple. The heads are shaped somewhat like red clover, but more spherical and less compact. White clover grows rapidly under favorable conditions so that the plant spreads rapidly.  Its usual height is from 2 to 4 inches, but sometimes it reaches a height of 8 inches or more.

There are at least two varieties of white clover—the common and the Ladino, or giant white. There are numerous strains of ordinary white clover, some of which perhaps may be considered varieties, but the important differences so far as its agricultural value in Kentucky is concerned are in adaptation—a kind obtained from one source being differently adapted from another from a different source. In limited tests on the Experiment Station farm at Lexington, Kentucky-grown seed was best adapted, and Louisiana-grown seed was next best. Inasmuch as seed is practically never saved in Kentucky, it is recommended that Kentucky farmers use Louisiana seed.

White clover in Kentucky bluegrass pasture

Ladino makes about twice the growth of ordinary white clover in central Kentucky. It seems to be at least reasonably well suited to Kentucky, tho perhaps not quite so winter-hardy as the native kind.  It grows especially well with vigorous pasture grasses, such as orchard grass. However, Ladino does not survive continuous close grazing; therefore pastures that contain it should be divided into sections and the sections grazed in rotation. This legume is worthy of trial seedings in Kentucky pastures. There are several geographical strains of Ladino, but nothing is known of their relative adaptability to Kentucky.

Common white clover, used chiefly as a pasture plant in Kentucky, is one of the most important legumes. It is well adapted for growing with bluegrass and other good sod-forming grasses when properly grazed, persists under severe grazing and tramping, is quite drouth-resistant, and reseeds abundantly. These qualities, together with its excellent palatability, high nutritive value, and its pronounced beneficial effect on the grass with which it grows, account for the important place the legume holds in Kentucky agriculture. It seems that the pastures of the Bluegrass region of Kentucky owe their fame to white clover as much as to Kentucky bluegrass.

Unfortunately, white clover has certain objectionable features that detract a little from its popularity, if they do not limit its use. It causes horses to slobber. This is important in the opinion of some horsemen; others regard it as more than offset by the plant’s excellent pasture and nutritive qualities. Another and more serious objection is the bloating it causes in cattle. However, this rarely happens even on the most luxurious growth if the cattle always have access to plenty of water and salt, and if they are kept on it continually or are never turned on the pasture when hungry.

Soil.— White clover thrives only on good soil. Treat poor soil as suggested on pages 3 and 4 for a vigorous growth of it in pastures.  Apply a phosphate fertilizer at a heavier rate than indicated on page 4 to soil deficient in available phosphorus, because white clover is very responsive to an ample supply of phosphorus in available form.  Weak and unthrifty white clover in old permanent pastures responds remarkably well to top-dressing with limestone and phosphate fertilizer, and sometimes also to muriate or sulfate of potash applied at the rate of 100 pounds to the acre.

Use.— As already stated, white clover is used wholly for pasture in Kentucky. There are times, however, when it makes so much growth that it is impossible to graze it off. Excess growth then might well be made into hay to the advantage of the pasture, provided it is not cut close. The feed could then be used when the pastures become short.

Much can be done by pasture practices to affect the usefulness of white clover. It is encouraged by rather close fall grazing of the other pasture grasses,' because that reduces competition from them sufficiently to allow the clover to spread thruout the sod. Where the grass grows tall during the fall there is seldom a good growth of white clover the following year.

Occasionally white clover produces considerable seed, which can be harvested to advantage because of the demand for adapted seed.  Tho somewhat difficult to take up, because the growth is usually short, the seed is rather easily threshed or hulled.

Winter or hairy vetch is a hairy, purple-flowered, viny legume that has found favor with many farmers in various parts of Kentucky.  It behaves normally as a winter annual, but individual plants may live two years. The chief advantages that commend the crop are its winter hardiness, toleration of soil acidity, and good soil-building and soil-conserving qualities. Objectionable qualities that have prevented wider farm use are its viny and rather prostrate habit of growth, relatively high acre cost of seeding, and tendency to become a weed in grain fields.

A stem of hairy or winter vetch in bloom

Because of its viny nature and consequent tendency to mat on the ground, vetch is commonly sown with one of the small grains. These support it so that it can be pastured to better advantage or more easily made into hay than if grown alone.

Soil.— Vetch is wholly winter-hardy in Kentucky and adapted to all dry soils in the state, tho many need moderate treatment for satisfactory production of it. It is more tolerant of soil acidity than most cultivated legumes, and perhaps no Kentucky soil is so acid that it will not produce good growth of the crop if other soil factors are favorable. The crop also makes fair growth on soil of moderate mineral content, but good growth ought not to be expected on a poor, acid soil; consequently, the soil treatments recommended on page 3 are advised for this crop in so far as practicable.

Seeding.— Because vetch seed is too large to become covered readily by stubble or other litter on the ground, a seedbed should always be prepared. It makes little difference how it is made, but it should be firm and at least moderately fine. Vetch differs from most cultivated legumes in that the seedlings come thru the ground from deep seeding; consequently it may be sown 3 inches deep or more if necessary—an advantage in dry weather over other legumes except field peas.

A mixture of vetch and small grain protects and enriches the soil

Use.— Vetch undoubtedly always will be used in Kentucky prin- cipally for soil improvement and soil conservation, for which pur- poses it has outstanding value, especially for use on soil that for one reason or another is impractical to lime. Alone it is only moderately satisfactory for pasture because it is rather unpalatable to livestock, but when sown with more palatable crops it is eaten rather freely.

Saving seed. — Because of its vining habit, its continuing blooming period, and the tendency of its seed to shatter, vetch is rather difficult to harvest for seed, yet seed yields in Kentucky are good enough to justify at least limited growing of the crop for seed. Average yields of vetch seed in Kentucky vary from 200 to 250 pounds per acre, but individual crops may make twice as much if shattering can be prevented.

Seed crops of vetch may be grown alone, but it is better to grow them with small grain. The crop may be cut, cured in the windrow, or stack, and threshed with a grain thresher or a combine. While it is possible to combine a mature standing crop, it is usually much better to cut and cure vetch before threshing. Only when grown with small grain can vetch be harvested with a binder, and even then it may be somewhat difficult to harvest with a binder. Pure stands of vetch may be allowed to mature, raked into windrows without mowing, and threshed.

Black medic is also commonly known as yellow trefoil. Tho many plants are biennial under favorable conditions, the species is essentially a winter annual. It is frequently mistaken for hop clover because both flower at about the same time and the blooms appear much alike. However, it can readily be distinguished from hop clover by its prostrate growth, rather square, pubescent stems, and large, rather compact group of seed pods. Under favorable conditions black medic in Kentucky makes a mat 6 to 10 inches thick by early summer.  Ordinarily, however, it produces less than half this amount, so that the plant may be considered only a pasture legume.

Black medic in a Kentucky bluegrass pasture

Soil.— Black medic grows on a wide variety of soils, provided they are not strongly acid, but it is of practically no value in Kentucky except on the better soils. The plant is a close relative of alfalfa and has similar but somewhat less exacting soil requirements. Tho it is adapted to soil of rather low available mineral content, it responds to the soil treatment recommended on page 3.

Use.— The palatability, nutritive value, and relatively low acre seeding cost of black medic are qualities that commend it for permanent pasture mixtures in Kentucky. Were it not for its too aggressive growth under some conditions, it could be recommended without reservation. Until more is known regarding its habits in permanent pastures, however, it should be sown only for trial.

Experience in seeding the crop in pastures for the first time in Kentucky has been somewhat discouraging because only poor to fair stands were obtained. Perhaps failure to get complete inoculation of the seedlings is the principal cause of failure, because once a thin stand is obtained it usually becomes much better. It seldom, however, produces growth as heavy as that of white clover and lespedeza.

As this plant has about the same relation to other species of plants in a pasture as hop clover, it seems that pasture management for maintaining black medic in the proper relation to other plant species should be essentially as described for the pasture containing hop clover.

Austrian winter peas should be sown with a small grain

Austrian Winter Peas

Austrian winter peas are viny, soft-stemmed, semiprostrate plants, Except for colored flowers and coarser growth, the plants are similar in appearance to garden peas. The two plants also seem to need the same kind of soil and climate. Both are cool-weather crops, but the Austrian kind is much more cold-resistant. The Austrian winter pea has attained much popularity in Tennessee and southward in recent years primarily as a soil-improving crop. The chief advantages on which its popularity rests seem to be its wide soil adaptation, relatively low seeding cost, and early maturity.

Tho this crop appears to be sufficiently cold-resistant to survive subnormal winter temperatures of western and southern Kentucky, it is doubtful whether it makes sufficient growth during any but the most favorable winter in Kentucky to justify extensive use of it. Other objections are its very slight fall growth, its trailing habit of growth, and the softness of its stems. It therefore is neither an effective cover crop nor a satisfactory pasture, tho it is very palatable. If it is grown with a winter grain or Italian ryegrass, as perhaps it should always be in Kentucky to ensure a ground cover, the vines are supported so that the crop is more usable for pasture.

Tho these crops are sufficiently winter hardy for use in southwest Kentucky, if sown with ryegrass or a winter grain, they should be grown only in a small way until their adaptability is determined. The Tifton species is reported to be more winter hardy than the southern bur clover.

Both species produce seed in a bur-like pod, and most of the seed on the market is in that form. It may be sown without inoculation because the organism is carried in the particles of dirt adhering to the burs. The hulled seed, however, should be inoculated. The burs are large. They should be sown in such a way that they are covered lightly.

Button clover is similar to southern bur clover in habit of growth and soil adaptation, but differs perhaps in being slightly less cold-resistant. On the whole, the discussion of the culture and agricultural value of southern bur clover applies to button clover, with the important exception that seeding practices are essentially the same as for black medic because commercial seed is normally hulled. Difficulty of harvesting the seed has resulted in very limited supplies.

Lexington, Kentucky September, 1942
Cooperative Extension Work in Agriculture and Home Economics: College of Agriculture and Home Economics, University of Kentucky, and the United States Department of Agriculture, cooperating. Thomas P. Cooper, Director. Issued in furtherance of the Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914.