Clover

“ Here it lies almost as treeless as some rich old clover-mead; yonder, its luxuriant smooth grasses give way to a dense wood of cedars, oaks, and pines. Not a living creature, either man or beast, breaks the visible silence of this inmost paradise; but for ourselves, standing at the precipice, petrified, as it were, rock on rock, the great world might well be running back in stone-and-grassy dreams to the hour when God had given him as yet but two daughters, the crag and the clover. ”

“ On Clover's breast he softly lit,
And folded his bright wings there.
"Dear flower," the butterfly whispered low,
"Long hast thou waited for me;
Now I am come, and my grateful love
Shall brighten thy home for thee;
Thou hast loved and cared for me, when alone,
Hast watched o'er me long and well;
And now will I strive to show the thanks
The poor worm could not tell.
Sunbeam and breeze shall come to thee,
And the coolest dews that fall;
Whate'er a flower can wish is thine,
For thou art worthy all. ”

“ In that wild garden were four varieties of clover—the white, creeping clover of blue-grass lawns; the pinkish purple-headed clover of farm meadows; the tall, shrub-like sweet clover, with tassel blossoms of white, and a blood-red clover, with pointed heads like pine cones. The crimson clover is a foreigner. Grown all over Europe, it is not often seen in America. In that wild garden it was a well-born emigrant among hardy and rough American weeds. ”

“ He is to be found in the soft bosoms of the freshest and sweetest meadows, and is most in song when the clover is in blossom. He perches on the topmost twig of a tree, or on some long, flaunting weed, and, as he rises and sinks with the breeze, pours forth a succession of rich, tinkling notes, crowding one upon another, like the outpouring melody of the skylark, and possessing the same rapturous character. ”

“ Often of a summer's evening have we watched the humming-birds flitting about the meadows, passing from one tuft of clover to another, then resting a moment on a tall spear of timothy grass, then off again to fresh clover, scarcely touching the other flowers, and continuing frequently in the same field until the very latest twilight. ”

“ On a rich and beautiful prairie, green and red, the wild clover and the roses, and occasionally a plum-tree, varying the hues were lying prostrate, as far as the eye could reach, hundreds of thousands of animals of all species, some quietly licking their tired limbs, and others extending their necks, without rising, to graze upon the soft grass around them. ”

“ Waves of dusk and green and gold, circle across the ripening barley, and long leaves upthrust, at intervals, like spears. The trees are in heaviest foliage, insect life is at its height, and the shimmering air is filled with buzzing, dancing forms, and the clover is gay with the sheen of innumerable gauzy wings. ”

“ But the flowers that grow by the wayside and trail over the hedges revel in the sunshine—the purple vetches, the red clover, the yellow wild-pea, and the starry Margueritas. Roses in sheets are spread over the hawthorn fences, and crimson poppies dot the cornfields. The white clover is alive with bees. This seems a bee country; everybody at present is either drumming bees or whitewashing cottages. ”

“ The dried branches of sweet clover will fill a room with delightful fragrance; but they will not drive away flies, nor protect woolens from the ravages of moths, as old women once taught us to believe. ”

“ A field of common red clover in full blossom will rival in richness of perfume the famous Scotch bean field. The clover field is a blaze of beauty—full, round, rosy heads spread under the sunshine a cloth, not of gold, but of purplish pink, strong, healthy plants these, full of suggestions of vigor.
Across this field boom thousands of bumble bees, and here we are reminded that the bumble bee is the special partner of the red clover, carrying its pollen and paid by the honey from the deep cups. The red clover is not a native of America. ”

“ As the year advances, as the clover blossoms disappear, and the spring fades into summer, he gradually gives up his elegant tastes and habits, doffs his poetical suit of black, assumes a russet, dusty garb, and sinks to the gross enjoyment of common vulgar birds. ”

“ For the observant clover-hunter, if his mind and eye work together, soon learns that the "four-leaved" variety is fond of company, and that the whim of the plant which thus produces one such leaf is very apt to be humored in several others. Thus, having discerned one four-leaved clover, we assume a tendency in the parent plant, which further search often discloses, sometimes to our great surprise, and, if we are as superstitious [216] as our antique philosopher above quoted, to our unbounded satisfaction. ”

“ One first thinks of some strange forms in leaf, and if the eyes are opened to them they may be met with upon every hand. The "four-leaf" clover is lucky perhaps only because the finder is sharper-eyed than others, and stands a brighter chance of seeing success as it crouches almost invisible in the wild grass, the tilled field, or wherever the eyes may be set to find it. ”

“ COMMON RED or BROAD CLOVER (Trifolium pratense) is a well-known field plant, much cultivated in this country. Clover is chiefly grown in firm and good soils, either as green food for horses and cattle, or to be cut for hay. On grass farms it is sometimes sown in conjunction with spring corn, and sometimes with ray-grass (51) ; and its utility in the fattening of cattle is well known. This species of clover grows wild, in meadows and pastures of most parts of Europe; and, in some countries, during a scarcity of provisions, the flowers have been made into a kind of bread. ”

“ A stand of medium red clover is sometimes secured by what may be termed self-sowing. For instance, where clover has been cut for hay and then allowed to mature even but a portion of the seed before being plowed under the same autumn, the seed thus buried remains in the ground without sprouting. When the land is again plowed to the same depth and sown with some kind of grain, the clover seed thus brought to the surface will germinate. ”

“ If anyone could find a five-leaved clover, and carry it with him to the heath, the stones could not harm him, for the five-leaved clover is a magic plant that has power over all enchanted things, and those stones are enchanted. ”

“ Superstitions of the four-leafed Clover have lingered in the imaginations of men almost more than those of any other plant. To be efficacious in bringing good luck, the little talisman must be found unawares. If slipped into the shoe of a lover, it will insure his safe return. The finding of a five-leaved Clover brings bad luck. ”

“ Many more, equally interesting, must be left undescribed. Only for a single case more can I still find room—that of the subterranean clover, which has been driven by its numerous enemies to take refuge at last in a very remarkable and almost unique mode of protecting its offspring. This particular kind of clover affects smooth and close-cropped hillsides, where the sheep nibble down the grass and other herbage almost as fast as it springs up again. Now, clover seeds resemble their allies of the pea and bean tribe in being exceedingly rich in starch and other valuable foodstuffs. ”

“ Every one knows the "four-leaved" clover. It is occasionally found on lawns, in pastures and by the roadsides. Specimens with five leaflets may be found now and then in the same place, or on the same plant, but these are rarer. I have often seen isolated plants with quaternate leaves, but only rarely have I observed individuals with more than one such leaf. ”

“ They are also reputed to gather colours from the sunset clouds, and with tiny but accurate brushes cover flower petals with their delicate tints. Fairies seldom reveal themselves to men, but the lucky possessor of a four-leafed Clover is sometimes privileged to see them. ”

“ The ZIG-ZAG CLOVER, COW or MARL-GRASS (T. Medium) , a native of Europe and Asia, now naturalized in the eastern half of the United States and Canada, may scarcely be told from the common red clover, except by its crooked, angular stems - often provokingly straight - by its unspotted leaves, and the short peduncle in which its heads are elevated above the calyx.
Farmers here are beginning to learn the value of the beautiful CRIMSON, CARNATION or ITALIAN CLOVER or NAPOLEONS (T. incarnatum) , and happily there are many fields and waste places in the East already harboring the brilliant runaways. ”

“ A hunt for four-leaf clovers, of which there may be a hundred or more made of green paper and hidden about the rooms, will be enjoyed. The one who finds the most may be rewarded either by some trifle like a pin-tray or by a stick-pin in the form of a four-leaf clover or horseshoe ”

“ In England alone we have no less than twenty-one recognized species of clover, of which at least seventeen are really distinguished among themselves by true and unmistakable differences, though the other four appear to me to be mere botanist's species, of no genuine structural value. If we were to take in the whole world, instead of England alone, the number of clovers must be increased to several hundreds. ”

“ Other such common names as German clover and scarlet clover are frequently used. In general the leaves and stems resemble those of red clover, but are distinguished by the rounded tips of the leaves and more hair on both leaves and stems. ”

“ Of these the little knotted clover, which grows in our dry pastures and banks, is an excellent simple example. It is a small, tufted annual, often growing in very closely cropped, sheep-eaten crofts, and therefore with an acquired habit of creeping close to the ground, and spreading its foliage flat against the earth. Its calyx-teeth are short and almost prickly, and its little knotted heads grow so close in the angles of the leaves that even a sheep has hard work to bite them off with his nipping front teeth. ”

“ Daisy was standing in the long Grass and Clover, so some of these little creatures climbed up the stalks and held out Buttercups, Convolvuluses, and Foxgloves, to catch the milk which dropped from the cow’s udder. When the astonished milk-maid, upon reaching home, recounted her wonderful experiences to her mistress, the goodwife at once cried out: “Ah! you put a four-leaved Clover on your head.”——To dream of seeing a field of Clover is of happy augury, indicating health, prosperity, and much happiness. ”

“ Hammond grows Clover in some of his fields every year. Those of you who have been at Willow Farm before, and have walked about the farmer's fields, know this, for we saw the bailiff sowing Clover broadcast. Besides the fields of Clover, however, there is always plenty of it growing among the meadow grass. We find some directly we go through the gate into Ashmead. It is a plant with a bright purplish-red blossom. ”

“ Most peasants in Europe will tell you that a dream about the flower foretells not only a happy marriage, but long life and prosperity. For ages the clover has been counted a mystic plant, and all sorts of good and bad luck were said to attend the finding of variations of its leaves which had more than the common number of leaflets. ”

“ 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 ”

“ Of these we have, besides others, English, French, American, and Dutch sorts, which differ in such minor details as a greater or less hairiness, or variations in the colour and size of the flowers, leaves, &c. The most important point connected with the broad-leaved clover is its permanency; some sorts scarcely maintaining a plant for two years, whilst others are said to be more or less perennial. ”

“ Fig. 249. White sweet clover.
In driving or walking along the country roads, we may find ourselves suddenly immersed in a wave of delightful fragrance, and if we look for the source we may find this friendly plant flourishing in the most forbidding of soils. Growing as a weed, it brings sweet perfume to us, and at the same time nitrogen, aeration and [356] drainage to the hopeless soil, making rich those places where other weeds have not the temerity to attempt to grow. When the soil is generous, the sweet clover often grows very tall, sometimes as high as ten feet. ”

“ I have endeavored to get some six- and seven-bladed crimson clover leaves, but in vain; selection, culture of many hundreds of individuals, manure, and the best possible treatment has not been adequate to produce them. ”

“ But it frequently takes exception to the botany and gives us an extra leaf, and thus we have our "four-leaved clover," a rarity which many of us, seek as we will, have never yet been able to discover in its native haunt, even though a whole handful of them are plucked here and there before our eyes by our more favored companions. Indeed, there are some lucky folk who seem literally to stumble upon "four-leaved grasse" wherever they go—who, having found one leaf, will sit down quietly in the grass and ere long accumulate a bouquet. ”

“ White Clover (Trifolium repens) is the most common of the White Clovers. It is supposed to be indigenous in the northern parts of our range. It is highly prized as forage for cattle and is often cultivated in fields for that purpose. ”

“ That's the beauty of bee-culture."
"Our bees are literally in clover this year," Leonard remarked. "That heavy coating of wood-ashes that I gave to a half-acre near the apiary proved most effective, and the plot now looks as if a flurry of snow had passed over it, the white clover blossoms are so thick. That is something I could never understand, Webb. Wood-ashes will always bring white clover. It's hard to believe that it all comes from seed dormant in the ground." ”