Columbia democrat and star of the north. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1867, 1866-07-04
1AGRICULTURAL.


,;c,,lf,1ral DreceDfs. needs 'qual1ilcat1on- On
! wheat farm it Is not easy to grow too much
clover. provided it is all consumed on the
farm. or plowed in as manure; but it IS
mite EASY to raise too much clover seed
Glover is, perhaps, ali things considered, the
best renovating crop. that can be grown on a
vbeat farm. Like peas and beans, cloveris
J. .isr,,m;norls plant, and draws considerable
onant;tv ofammonia from the atmosphere,
while itsdeep roots penetrate the subsoil and
br;ng up potash and other ingredients of
plantfood. It is admirably adapted to our
climate, and syet 'clover sickness, (" which
Is 90 troublesome on the light soils Of Eng
land. Is known IN few localities in this coun-
try.
their own seed is question which deserves
consideration. We have urged them to do
so because we think they win be more likely
to SOW more if they have plenty Of seed OF
theirown, than if they have to purchase.
But it should be borne in mind that the main
object Of sowing SO much clover IS to enrich
the land, and it is undoubtedly true thatlet-
ting clover go to seed changes it from rem
ovating to an exhausting crop.
John Johnston, in letter now before us,
says he has frequently sold from 500 to
$1,000 worth and over of clover seed, in
year. He thinks it one of the most profta-
bic crops the farmer can grow, but he adds,
sT have known crop of clover seed exhaust
the land more than crop of wheat The
conclusion is this: Clover is great renova-
ting crop when grown for hay, for pasture,
.or fer pIowing under, andshould consequent
" be sown literally. On the other hand,
raising seed is highly profitable, but some
what exhausting to the land. Raise clover
seed, but use the money obtained from Its
sale to enrich the land A bushel OF clover
seed viii usually buy six or eight bushels of
peas or beans, and these fed to stock on the
farm win restore to the soil, in the form of
manure, six or eight times as much plant
food as the crop Of clover seed removed.
Do not try to cheat the soil. Donot induce
it to give you a good crop of clover seed,
and then refuse it share in the profits.
In raising clover seed, cut the first crop
early-say in this latitude, the first or sec
ond week ofJune. 1t is also important that
the first crop should be mown as evenly as
possible that the plants may start equally,
and the future crop Of seed ripen all at the
same time. It is desirable to get the seed
early, say the first or second week In Sep
tember. Occasionally large crop wiIlripen
in October but at that season the weather
is usually unpropitious, and large number
of the heads when ripe are apt to drop off in
wet weather, both before and after they are
cut A large growth of foliage issometimes
obtained by sowing gypsum on the clover
after the hay crop is removed, but in a cool,
growing season, the seed in this case is apt
to ripen poorly.
The largest crops are obtained, other things
being equal, from land seeded with nothing
but elover-and in this case the seed should
be sown pretty thickly, six oreight quarts
per acre This thick seeding has double
advantage: You get finer quality of clover
hay, and the plants being thick on the ground
the crop is not SO apt to lodge, ane can be
mown more evenly. Six bushels per acre
is sometimes grown on good land when clo-
yer alone is sown, but three or four bushels
is a full average. The expense of growing,
harvesting, and hulling is very little, and the
seed is practically nearly all profit.
Let not the farmer who neglects and
starves his land think that he can get rich
bygrowing clover seed. The profits are not
for him. There is no better indication of
good land and good treatment than luxuri-
ant crops of clover. The land that will pro-
duce good clover win produce good wheat
or other grain-and the negligent farmer de-
serves neither one nor the other. Let him
him give the land good tiIlage and liberal
treatment, and it win prove grateful, but if
he starves the soil the soil viii starye him.