Sweet Clover
Category:
ALFALFA
Sweet clover is so named from the sweet odor which emanates from the
living plants. It is of two species. These are designated, respectively,
Melilotus alba and Melilotus officinalis. The former is also called
Bokhara clover, White Melilot and Tree clover. It is possibly more
widely known by the name Bokhara than by any other designation. The
latter is sometimes called Yellow clover. The difference between these
in appearance and habits of growth does not seem to be very marked,
except that the blossoms of the former are white and those of the latter
are yellow.
Sweet clover is upright and branched in its habit of growth. It attains
to a height of from 2 to 8 feet, according to the soil in which the
plants grow. The somewhat small and truncate leaves are not so numerous,
relatively, as with some other varieties of clover, and the stems are
woody in character, especially as they grow older. The blossoms are
small and white or yellow, according to the variety, and the seed pods
are black when ripe. The roots are large and more or less branched, and
go down to a great depth in the soil; especially is this true of the
main, or tap root.
The plants, according to Beale, are annual or biennial, but more
commonly they are biennial. They do not usually blossom the year that
they are sown, but may blossom within a year from the date of sowing.
For instance, when sown in the early autumn, they may bloom the
following summer. They are exceedingly hardy, having much power to
endure extremes of heat and cold, and to grow in poor soils and under
adverse conditions. In some soils they take possession of road sides and
vacant lands, and continue to grow in these for successive years. The
impaction of such soils by stock treading on them seems rather to
advance than to hinder the growth. They start growing early in the
spring and grow quickly, especially the second year. They come into
bloom in June, early or later, according to the latitude, and ordinarily
only in the year following that in which they were sown. Because of the
fragrant odor which is emitted from the plants as they grow, they are
sometimes introduced into gardens and ornamental grounds.
The uses of the plants are at least three. It has some value as a food
for live stock. It has much value as a fertilizer. It has probably even
more value as a food for bees. It has also been used in binding soils.
Its value as a food for stock has probably been overestimated. It is
bitter, notwithstanding the fragrant odor that emanates from it; hence,
it is not relished by stock, insomuch that they will not eat it when
they can get other food that is more palatable. As hay, it is hard to
cure and of doubtful palatability when cured. As a fertilizer, its value
does not seem to have been sufficiently recognized, and the same is
probably true of it as bee pasture, although many bee-keepers are alive
to its great merit for such a use.
This plant does not seem to find much favor with many. The United States
Department of Agriculture has spoken of it as a weedy biennial,
concerning which extravagant claims have been made. The laws of some
States proscribe it as a weed, and impose penalties directed against any
who allow it to grow. Legislatures should be slow to class a legume as a
weed, especially one that has much power to enrich soils. The author
cherishes the opinion that this plant has a mission in the economy of
agriculture and of considerable importance to farmers, especially in
soils that are poor and worn, as soon as they come to understand it
properly.
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