Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1858-04-30
PARIS, ME-,
The Clover Crop.

The time !. at hand for giving attention
I, sowing clover sccd-l matter Of more
Importance 90 the farmer than il is gener-
ally considered. 1t should be the rule upon
most farms, that every acre Of winter grain
must b. seeded down to clover, to remain
at least one. aud not more than three years,
in meadow or pasture. And spring grains
should not be sown crop after crop-cloycr
should follow, at least, after spring wheat
and barley.
In sowing clover seed in the spring upon
winter whca, and rye. we find, probably,
the best means Of seeding down for the clo-
ver crop. With us. il has usually been
more successful than seeding with any spring
crop. And, We think, for the following
reasons Wheat is generally sown upon
good soil-and one that suits the clover
plant. The clover Is sown early and thus
gets some root before the summer drouth
comes on. Wheat and rye are both harycs'
ted early. which allows moro time for
growth OF clover the remainder Of the season.
As general thing, plaster, issown on elo-
YER thus situated, and benefits both crops.
when clover Is ,own on barley, 1t will bc
moro successful irthq following precautions
are observed lie, both be s1wn early, and
the clover seed either narrowed in before
rolling. which will give sufficient covering
lor seed - minute in size. When the clo-
yer appears above ground, SOW on plaster
about one bushel Per acre. Tho same
course Of treatment should DO pursued in
seeding with sprins-whcA, or oats, aud it Is
thought that plaster Is a material benefit TO
the latter crop. In our experience in seed
ins with barley We sowcI one crop after
harrown. and without, rollns-,hc catch
was a poor one, but tho spring following
we sowcI in more seed, which did something
towa-i supplying the deficiency. Ia anoih'
er case we narrowed in the clover seed, plas-
tered th, SANE, the catch was very good
one, AMI when the barley was harvested Ga
heavy crop) the clover covered the ground
very completely. The Season it should bc
remarked was in the Grs, instance, one OF
drouih, aud in ,h, second, rather wet
one which, no doubt, influenced the result
in both eases.
Clover sod, more than one year old, does
not ye.ciatc As readily as fresh seed, unless
the harl she'll, with which it i, cnyeIopcd,
from favorable conditions Of warmth and
moisture, becJmc, s1lienel; aud this cI-
plains the reason why soaking seed in warm
water and rolling it in plaster sometimes
shows 50 flvorlbly upon the crop-and aLo
why old sssI -3nl,im,s fails 10 yosetaiO
until the second year.
IL ia mistaken economy which would
give bat apIrtiAl supply of seed when stock
Ing - clover. En1ush should DO sown to
fully cover the surface even when small
thus all foreign growth wall b discouraged
many weeds wall b, destroyed, and the
hay OF pasture DO Of b,t,cr quality. On
slils slbrct 70 helyins out it j, well TO sow
a mixture OF grass sssl-rimo.hy succeeds
ba,,cr hcrc-,he tap roo, Of tho clover max.
ins 1t p,culiarly liable 10 bo drawn out by
the alternli, action oflrsllins and thaw-
ins. Draining is ihc great want Of such
soils-l porous soil is never lnjurc! by this
cause, it will not hold water enough to
cause it, when frozen, to tear every ihins
growing in i, to pieces.
Fall seeding 70 clover is no, usually prac.
ticol, though, sometime since. corrc,pon.
dent gave some instances where it was sue.
ccs,lul. We should b5 glad u know more
Of this, and, indeed all branches Of tho sub.
Jet, aud hop, Rural readers will give us
the bsncai Of their experience.
Rural New Norker