The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1861-02-12

Delivered before the Meeklen6urg Agricultural Society
the lst day Of November, 1860, By the President Of The
Society, Il. B. d. VIDSON Esg.
TPUBLIsHRp BIZ REQUEST OF THE SOCIETY

500 PUBLISHED REQUEST SOCIETY,"
FslOw- Citizens and Members of the Mecken6urg Agr-
cultural Society," confess hestancy in deliver
ing an essay before enlightened and respectable
audience is collected here day. when see many
gentlemen present much more capable than myself to
perform the duty which you have assigned me- but
from the very great interest which Thave always felt in
the agricultural advancement of the country at LARGE
and particularly of Meckenburg county and this Society,"
feel bound in principle shrink from duty which
may in the least degree contribute towards it.
The subject you assigned your last annual
meeting was the "Cuture of Glover" As there is a
great many scientific treases in circulation the sub
ject which of little practical value in this section
and not adapted to soil and climate desired
to give plain practical statement of my experience in
the culture of Glover With this desire l now
cheerfully comply, and will first consider
THE IMPORTANCE THE CULTURE
/ am every day becoming more thoroughly convinced
ths the raising of clover very essential the farmer
and would advise all of them try it, My experience
with it has been confined solely to its usefulness
for pasturing stock and its qualities fertilizer
of the SOIL As pasture for stock think it is in point
of economy unrivalled As grass hay to be cut in
the summer and fed ont in the winter is the
among the Northern farmers, l see no reason why it
could not be made to serve the same purpose here.
In the latter part of February, 1853, sowed half
bushel of clover seed five of land having
the field in wheat the fall preceding The land in
good condition, well puverised from the winters frost
and rain Ut will be well to always before the hard
rains set In, as otherwise the ground will together
and become hard and the clover seed will not be
ered.) neither brushed nor narrowed it in 1t
up WELL but died out very much from the dry weather
and the want of previous thorough ploughing In the
fall pastured it with fifty sixty hogs for about
month"; and found it to be excellent Ny hogs grew aud
did well, and the conclusion that the product
of the half bushe of clover saved that
100 bushels of corn In the spring of 1854 had eight
or ten calves it night and eight mich
from morning till IL o'clock noon and also some three
horses and mules that were idle part of that time.
continued it for pasture with the for
three years and half excepting July and August)
til the army of sc destroyed it.
About the I'd of March 1889 sowed one bushel of
clover seed on ten acres of land, which had
wheat the fall previous; then turned my sheep in the
lot and well as l recollect, they kept it
two weeks, turned off account of rain The
season was fine and it came up well in few days; but
the summer was very dry and when | cut my wheat
thought my clover seed entirely lost, could
but very little clover then however the in
the latter part of July and by the middle of August
was surprised TO see what set of clover had my
lot; about the middle of September it six to
inches high. | commenced pasturing it with from
to fifteen two-year ole heifers and continued them
it till the first of the month following that time
put it fortyfye fifty faening hogs and kept them
it the month through and part of November, except
four FIVE days of wet weather Indeed, land
should be pastured in wet weather. if possibly be
avoided except very sandy land creek or river
Ny opinion is that while the clover the lot of hogs
consumed only about half the they would if fed
in a dry lot on corn and mash. My calculation was
that the lot of clover the fall after it
worth 800 bushels of arrved at my conclusions
in this way the fortyfve hogs eating before put
in the clover field sixteen bushels of per day;
while the clover they consumed only one half
much they in the field forty days and eight bush
els per day for forty days amounts to 800 bushels Now
here certainly vast saving and also telling
demonstration of the Importance of clover for pastur
ing. Last spring | pasured from forty fifty head of
horses mules and cattle the same lot, and to-day
(l6th of October) | have sixteen eighteen head of
stock it, and it is looking well.
sixty field on which | sowed two barrels of
clover seed last spring have been pasurng with
y all nay stock and seventy-fve eighty head of hogs
all the time since the la part of July and is doing
remarkably well except one portion which is an old
field am bringing into cultivation.
These facts show the great value of clover for pastur
ing purposes and have before said believe it is
to the interest of every farmer in Western North Caro-
lima to devote some reasonable attention to it.
IMPORTANCE CLOVER FERTILIZER.
As fertilizer of the soil, my experience has led me
to believe that have nothing better than clover
After pasturing the lot of FIVE to which have
before referred from the fall of 1853 till July 1856
prepared it for crop of wheat had the soil turned
over with the Thompson plough and the common two
horse sde-shovel plough, not having but one Thomp
plough. Not considering the work well done, as
the ground was still too hard (the middle of August
scattered over it some twenty-five thirty loads of
few days before sowing. Now, all farmers
know that this a small quantity of manure FIVE
1t is true that part of it the best kind six
eight loads was leached ashes and the scrapings
about my negrO-houses (Which think preferable to
guano if it is to cost $50 per TOM the balance was
cow-pen manure l then broke the land cross-wise
with the common one-horse bulltongue plough and
although it still very dry the plough broke and
the cods tolerably WELL In this field sowed four
and a half bushels of wheat and poughed it in with
the ploughs, the 2lst aud 22d of October
Shortly afterwards it up looking rather bad and
thin | neither narrowed brushed but think
narrowing very essential before the wheat is poughed
in if your land is the least cloddy The February and
good part of the March following kept on 1t from
ten to twenty and lambs for about five weeks and
occasionally two three mich
About the goth of June the wheat cut, but leav-
ing, thought the field about three bushels to
the Farmers who cultivate cotton well know how
during year in which they have good crop of it,
it being generally the custom when the cotton field is
needing work the harvest field, leaving
much ungahered; and such the fact in this
as it not sown for premium and had no idea
of competing for premium when cutting 1t. In July
the wheat threshed and the yield was 223 bush
els-being a fraction 445 bush. per acre and
believe that if had measured of this lot and
saved it ALL there wonld have been SO bush
for there twenty-five shade trees in the lot.
Now attribute this large yield chiefly the fertilzng
qualities of cover-certanly to the clover than
the very small quantity of manure The land previous
to this time had not been in condition to produce
such CROP what farmers call red mulatto land,
and had been up by good many roads and washes;
part of it poor and tolerably good and,
from the best information that can gather, had been
cleared eghty-6ve or ninety years
QUALITY SOIL ADAPTED TO CLOVER.
The question often asked what kind of soil is best
adapted to the growth of clover Many ask this queS-
ton because they CINE that have very little soil
in this part of the State in which clover be sue
cessnlly cultivated Such persons certainly labor
der great mistake. Having given considerable attcn-
with great degree of confidence regarding it. On my
own plantation | have many FIVE six different
kinds of soil and believe that clover if properly cu
tivated will grow all. think that might take