The article highlights the sowing of grass development process and seed extraction methods from a red clover. It also tells us about the profitable cultivation of this plant due to extensive and transitional farming. The attention has been paid to a precondition for the red clover sowing at the farms. The main role of the centuries-old farming practice experience and some scientist work has been shown in the sowing of grass development process.

The early ripe (south-Russian), slowly ripe (middle-Russian) and mid-ripe clovers were considered to be of different genus. The term «genus» as a notion has been changed in the development process as well as knowledge about the clover. The notion meaning about this plant had been changing in the plant identification process. At first terms: “species”, “genus”, “specific difference” – have been named according to their specific difference. The clovers of red, white, pink colour and birds-foot trefoils were considered to be of different genus. Lately the red clover difference has been determined by the term «species» (and again, at the beginning as a genus – Russian clover and than as species – south-Russian and middle-Russian clover). Then the term «species» became more specific. The local clover species of certain areas have been named according to their features: early ripe or slowly ripe. For example: Perm, Yaroslavl, Central-Russia, Chernigiv, Kyiv etc. The term «species» became commonly accepted for all plants of that genus only in the last part of the XX century. A certain clover kind with certain useful agricultural features has been named “clover species”.

Before the foreign clover seeds, timothy and others were delivered to Russia the sowing of grass had been existed at the husbandries. As a rule, local seeds, seeds taken from wild growing herbs or cultivated grass at the nearby husbandries were used for the sowing of grass.

The fodder famine and an opportunity to get a high profit from selling seeds and hay became the main reason to improve the clover sowing for the agronomists that had good experimental results and experience in the sowing of grass. But that experience was accepted differently in the farming. The peasants sowing of grass formed at the beginning of the last quarter of the ХVІІІ century.

The peasants sowing of grass on the meadows, farmsteads, waste plots of land, forest plots, lawns and areas out of the plots helped to save the old local species. The sowed seeds taken from import often died under the bad winter conditions in the central, south-western, south-eastern Russia areas. In the 80s of the ХІХ century the native landowners already knew about the local clover advantages and they were against the American import that was coming at that time to the Europe market.

Key words: development process, meadow clover, farming, husbandries, seed, income, profit, production experience.