Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1847-06-17
Fromithe sou,hein. Planter.

CLOVER ON CLAY SOILS. -
Editor In the January number OF
pier you call upon the eight and ten
i'm growers of Virginia for assist
lie you express your unmtigated
for the zone barrel men, their ,heo-
ractices. As it happens that am
e nor the other 'of these classes,
an intermediate station, feel
What portion of your remarks are
apply to me and the rest of the
barrel farmers. Until you de-
osi,ion shall give myself the
b. he doubt, and give you some of
the ofmy lining, which you can turn
over Four readers, or not as you may
think per
In lS4l, when took possession Of the
farm now live on, found piece of land
Of about eighteen acres sown in oats, which
yielded. when ,hreshed, less than seventy
five bushels, or about four bushels per acre.
The soil is stiff clay, of lIght color, and a
portion of it at the time SO quilted and worm
on, as to yield nothing. During the au-
,amn of lS4l, applied sixty bushels of
fresh oyster she'll lime to the acre, and
ploughed the land to the depth of six inch
es, and let it lay until the spring of 1912
Two bushels of oats per acre were then
sown, ploughed in with shovel ploughs and
cross narrowed, and after the narrowing,
one gallon of cloverseed per acre was put
on the land. | stacked the oats apart from
the rest of my crop, aud the yield was 26O
bushels, or a little over fourteen bushels per
~otbiur hrau IF buf g
an Improvement on four.
In The summer of 1913, | cut the first
growth Of clover for hay, and estimated il at
one-half to three fourths of a ton per acre,
(I had no means OF weighing i,.) In Au-
gus. the second growth was ploughed under
with thfee-horse barshear ploughs running
from eight to ten inches deep. In the latter
part of September bushel and three pecks
of wheat were sown to the acre.
In February, 1914, one gallon of clover
seed to the acre was sowed on the wheat
The yield of wheat was fraction under
40 bushels, or over nine bushels per acre.
The claver in 1915 was so much injured by
excessive drought that it was not worth
cutting.
In July, 1916, had the land ploughed
with ,hree-horse ploughs to the depth Of
eight or nine iaches, and on the portion of
of it that was very much quilted and worn
labout Six or seven acres) and which had
hitherto contributed next to nothing in the
yield, applied manure at the rate of about
kwen.y-fxe or thirty four-horse wagon loads
10 the acre. A part of this was cow-pen, a
part stable manure, and part compost Of
dime and marsh mud, and the three were
applied separately. The manure was har-
romed in, and between the 18th and 18th of
SsS6tesnber aMo bushels of wheat per acre
were sown.
: In February, 1876, one gallon of clover
seed per acre was sown on the wheat. The
WELD of wheat at the last harvest was lao
bushels, or nearly thirteen and a half bush
per acre. The land is now we'll set in clo-
yer.
In 1912, planted piece of land con-
tanning fifteen acres (aIoinsng the above
mentioned piece in corn. The yield was
less than twenty five barrels, or about one
and half per acre. ! sowed wheat on the
corn land, and in the spring of l843, clover
Gone gallon of seed per acre on the wheat.
The yield of wheat was little less than
eighty bushels, or about five bushels per
acre. In 1914, cut the clover Tor hay, es-
timaled at over one-half ton per acre !; and
in 1915, the clover being killed by the
drought, had the land ploughed between
eight and nine inches deep and applied one
hundred bushels Of lime per acre, and had
it narrowed in as soon as it was scattered.
About the first of September, cross-plough-
ed this land, and on the 18th, sowed two
bushels Of wheat per acre. In February,
1916, one gallon of clover seed per acre was
sown on the wheat. The yield of wheat was
a little over $50 bushels, or about fifteen
bushels per acre. The land is now we'll set
in clover. The lime put on this piece was
oyster shell lime, slaked.
could give you the results of more ex-
periments with lime, guano, &C., for | have
dabbled with them all, but have already
written more than intended will, there
fore, only make an estimate of the expense
of lining land lying on the tide waters of
Virginia. Lime can be bought, delivered on
the shores or banks of the rivers in other
words, brought to your farms at eight cents
per bushel. Oyster shells will be delivered
by the river and bay craft at from four to
five cents, and have bought them at three
cents per bushel. The expense of burning
the shells, including the wood and labor, if
you own it, is about three cents, and if you
buy and hire, about four cents per bushel.
am told that stone lime is made near Bal
timore, and can be delivered on the Poto-
mac river at seven or seven and half cents
per bushel.
The labor of hauling and spreading the
lime, il the fields are not more than mile
or two miles from the water, is worth from