Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/727

 CLOVER CLOVES 715 Fulton's experiments in growing crimson clo- ver attracted special attention from the mem- bers of the Highland agricultural society. A large crop was raised from seed sown by Mr. Fulton on land from which a crop of early potatoes had just been taken. Three months after it was sown, on Oct. 17, the yield was 2| tons per imperial acre. He arrived at the fol- lowing conclusions: It is highly valuable as a secondary crop after early potatoes ; it is an excellent intermediate crop to precede turnips ; it will withstand severe weather if well estab- lished before frost; it produces an excellent crop of forage, much relished by live stock. If the land is not very clean, it will not answer so well as vetches, but it is of easy cultivation. Maturing 10 or 12 weeks after sowing, it may be produced very early in the season if wanted for stock. White clover (T. repens) is an excel- lent plant on all pasture lands, of great value in sheep husbandry, adapted to almost every kind of soil, and its network of roots is White Clover (Trifolium repens). all through the soil. The following analyses of red and white clovers are by Prof. Way of the royal agricultural society of England : Red Clover. White Clover. Water 81-01 Albuminous or flesh-forming principles. 4-27 Fatty matters -69 Heat-producing principles starch, gum, sugar, Ac 8-45 Woody fibre 3'76 Mineral matter or ash 1-82 100-00 79-71 8-14 5-33 2-08 100-00 One hundred parts of each of the varieties named, dried at 212 F., gave the following results : Bed Clover. White Clover Albuminous or flesh-forming principles. 22-55 18-76 Fatty matters 8-67 4-88 Heat-producing principles starch, su- gar, gum, &c 44-47 40-04 Woody fibre 19-75 26-58 Mineral matter or ash 9-56 10-29 100-00 100-00 These researches of Prof. Way are most valu- able contributions to the science and art of agriculture. Boussingault found the nutritive equivalent of red clover ' hay, taking English hay as the standard, to be as 79 is to 100 ; the difference of result obtained by Fresenius in a like experiment need only be looked at. Thaer, a most careful experimenter, found its practical value in feeding to bear the same relation to English hay as 90 to 100. He found the nutritive equivalent of red clover in the green state to be as 311 to 100, and its prac- tical value in feeding to be 450 to 100. If clo- ver for hay is left till very ripe without cut- ting, the starch and sugar of the plant will change to woody fibre, thus causing brittleness if much exposed, and rendering 'the hay almost valueless. The nectaries of clover heads, when fully developed, are rich in a honey-like liquid, hunted for by bees, and if the crop is mown before the seed ripens this saccharine property will be preserved. In growing seed, it is com- mon to pasture the first year's growth, or cut a crop of hay, and leave the second growth for seed ; but if the cutting is not done early, the frost may check its growth, thus preventing its maturity. After threshing, it is run through a hulling machine, and then a fanning mill. Clover is much more succulent than any of the grasses usually raised for hay, requiring more time to part with its moisture, and should be cut only when free from dew. If dried by a hot sun, it heats in the sward, wilts, becomes dark-colored, and loses flavor and aroma. It should be saved in the cock, and only so much mown at one time as can easily be brought under cover if rain threatens. Make no hand or rake rolls ; use forks ; any unnecessary compression breaks the structure of the plant, and makes the sap exude. The usual applica- tion of salt at the time of putting it in the mow is beneficial. In special cases the mixing of clover hay with straw or other fodder of the previous season is desirable, especially if it be not thoroughly dried. Green clover hay im- parts flavor, aroma, and freshness to old fodder, thus causing animals to relish the mixture. CLOVES, a celebrated spice of the Molucca islands, so called from the resemblance to small nails, and designated in all countries wherever known and used by a term having this significa- tion (Port, cravos, Span, clavos, from Lat. clavus, a nail). The clove of commerce is the product of the largest and most elegant of the myrtle family, the caryophyllus aromaticus of Lin- na3us, and is described by Rumpf, in his Hortus Amboynensis, as " the most beautiful, the most elegant, and the most precious of all known trees." In its native soil, which is confined to the islets Ternate, Tidor, Mortir, Makian, and Batshian, on the west of Gilolo, the true and original Moluccas, this tree grows to a height of 40 ft., begins to bear the spice blooms in its seventh year, and attains to an age varying be- tween 100 and 200 years. The trunk is per- fectly straight, the bark smooth and of a light