Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 2, 1802).djvu/28

10&#93; io] CLO be deposited. Or, if rattle be turned into clover belly-deep, they will, it is said, receive no injury by eat- ing too freely of it ; as it is perni- cious only in its earlier state. Should they, nevertheless, be attacked with that dangerous swelling, they may be relieved bv adopting the ■remedies pointed out under the ar- ticle CATTLE, vol. i. p. 404-5. Jt deserves to be noticed, that the introduction of this beneficial plant into modern husbandrv, has been attended with numerous and important advantages. Since that period, the new system of stall- feeding dates its origin. Many in- . significant farms, on the Continent, have since been converted into va- luable estates ; for, as this species of clover is annually productive of three or four crops, tor two years at least, it is generally ploughed in, after the last mowing, in autumn, and wheat or rye, immediately sown on the land, without any other manure, except what is de- rived from the fertilizing roots of that vegetable. Sometimes, how- ever, gypsum is scattered on such fields during the winter. In t;mes of great scarcity, bread has been prepared from the flowers of the common clover. In Sweden, the heads are employed for dyeing wool of a green colour ; and if mixed with alum, they yield alight, ifwiih copperas, a dark green colour. 2. The medium, or ^ed peren- nial clover, which is found in pas? CLO tures, hedge's, and on the sides of woods. It thrives on a rich soil, whether clay or gravel, and will even grow upo.i a monr, if pro- perly cultivated. It grows spon- taneously on marl-land ; but is usually reared from seed, which should be put in the ground from the middle of April to the middle ot May. This species, as well as the common clover, is frequently sown together with flax, on a soil highly cultivated for that purpose ; and, as the latter is a forwardplant, it is generally removed so early as to allow the clover time for grow- ing. Red clover is sometimes sown by itself ; but this practice is by no means to be recommended ; for the crop is liable to be lost, un- less it be sheltered in its infant state, during the severity of the winter. When red clover is intended for seed, the ground ought to be care- fully cleared of w r eeds, that the seed may be preserved pure. It is collected both from the first and second crop, but principally from the former. When one half of the held has changed its colour, by the drying of the clover heads, the 11 aping of them may then be com- menced. In America, this is ef- fected by two implements, which, for ingenuity and simplicity of con- struction, deserve to be greatly re- commended : we have therefore subjoined the following represen- tations: