FARM AND DAIRY.

Taranaki Daily News, 3 July 1920, Page 9

FARM AND DAIRY.

A REMARKABLE CLOVER. FARMER'S DISCOVERY. "A clover that will hold its own with paspalum, that will carry four or five head of stock per acre during the growing season, that is eaten so greedily as to cause bloating in half an hour, that will outstrip any clover yet known in vigour of growth on wet soils, and that, appears to be equally palatable at any stage of its growth," such is the description which Mr E. Breakwell, B.A, B.Sc., agrostologist, gives in the current issue of the Agricultural Gazette of a new fodder plant recently biought t.) light. This clover, it appears, is now weir established on the low-lying situations at Fullerton Cove, near Newcastle. It was originally observed and was first fostered by Mr .1. H. Shearman, a dairyman in that locality, who first noticed it about 1597. It was then a small plan', running for a distance of about Gin, on the edge of a small drain or gutter that required cleansing at intervals. This drain ran through some lucerne, and the land not being worked, the young iplant, which would otherwise have been de- j stroyed, was allowed to spread. The ' growth was so vigorous that it aroused ! Mr Shearman's curiosity, and he often j inspected the plant, which soon grew : along the drain for a distance of 20ft, and blocked the water from running. The clover had then to be shovelled out, and was put in a grazing paddock, where it was expected that the cattle, by continuously eating it down, would kill it- Instead of this it grew rapidlv, and ultimately killed out most of th?. other plants as it spread over the ground. This process took about ten I before Mr Sliearfnan discovered : that he had a clover really worth caring I for. He then began to plant it as fast as possible, and now has about 12 acres j fully covered. Each year ho makes a. | lot of hay of exceptionally good quality. | So far he has found no seed. I Mr Breakwell says that at first sight | the new plant would pass for stravbenv ! clover, but the two have been grown ! side b\' side for some time, both at Ful- j lerton Cove and at the Botanic Gard- ; ens, and on examination some striking | comparisons as well as certain points of . difference are revealed. Under similar J conditions the new, arrival, which has j been named Shearman's Clover, spreads three times as quickly as strawberry clover, and producees fully six times the quantity of feed. While closely allied to strawberry clover, it is considered sufficiently individual to be classified as a distinct variety. Its general habi.. such as barrenness in setting seed and aggressiveness ingrowth, and its original discovery and development from a sing.e plant suggest that it has resulted from a cross between two clovers —perhaps . strawberry and white, or strawberry and red, or even white and red. A close study of the available literature of the world's clovers, together with an examination of the numerous different clover plants in the herbarium of the Botanic Gardens, have revealed no similar clover, and for the present it has been decided to name it after its discoverer. It should, of course, be remembered that many of the Fullerton soils on which this clover thrives are marshy and slightly saliiK, and it will be necessary to conduct experiments on more rormal soils before it can be recommended for them. But there arc wide stretches of saline soils along the coast of New South Wales, and for these the new clover can be. highly recommended, particularly as under such conditions it is generally very difficult to get any other plant to grow. On the light sandy soils at the Botanic Gardens it has done very well, but it has been noticed that a good supply of moisture is essential to keep it growing vigorously. The clover is partial to lieat if grown under moist conditions; on the other hand it is not killed by frosts, though in -winter it is dormant. As the clover has not up to the present produced seed, root-planting has to be resorted to. The growth is usually so little difficulty is encountered in establishing it. From a dozen small roots placed in the Botanic Gardens ten months ago there has spread a plot of 30 square yards in extent, forming a dense mat. Spring appears to be the best time for planting. The discovery is an interesting illustration of what close observation by interested farmers can do in noting abnormal growths, The original plant might easily have been destroyed, and it is quite possible that many other equally valuable "sorts" have remained unobserved and neglected. Many noteworthy additions to our varieties of economic plants have resulted from tlie work of highly trained plant breeders and specialists; at least as many have originated as natural crosses, or even as hybrids in the field, and it has been left to farmers to develop their possibilities. .