The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1872-05-24
CLOVER AS A FERTILIZER.

Mr.. Frank Graves, of Marcellus
Falls, New York, writing to the
Germantown Telegraph" on this
subject says:
"Not only should we bring to oar
assistance every available stimulant
to vegetable growth, but also at the
same time that kind should come
first which is the cheapest. A great
deal has been written about compos-
ting, collecting forest leaves, dis
solving bones, and saving rubbish
generally, all good in measure, and
adding their mite to the enriching of
the land, but not wholly satisfying
the great craving of the soil for food.
1t is the deduction of our leading
farmers make from years Of expert
ence. that Clover is the cheapest
manure. A principle item is the
cost of applying fertilizers. set a
man at work hauling barn-yard ma
nure. He must have team, wagon
and fork. lie does good days
work if he covers an acre. | send
a man to the field with bag of Glow
er seed on his shoulders, and when
night comes he has seeded down ten
acres or more. He has added more
fertility to the soil than is contained
in one hundred loads of common
barn-yard manure. A not very dis
tant farmer says: 4 cannot afford to
put my straw back on my land, SO
at five dollars ton, his wheat straw
goes to the paper mill and is imme-
diately converted into paper, and he
buys Glover seed with the money.
OF course he can afford to put it
back, though the resulting profit
wouldn't be near SO greatas is COM
monty estimated. 1t seems to me
better to grow Clover seed and keep
the straw too.
"Clover protects the surface,
hence it may be truly called a mulch.
A thick mat of Clover prevents the
escape from the earth of fertilizing
properties that would otherwise be
wasted. Leave a board on the
ground for few months, and no
matter how barren the soil, a profit
able amount of fertilizing material
will accumulate under the board.
Just in this way does the Glover plant
fetch up barren, WORKOUT land to a
producing state. Possibly as much
humus is kept back to the earth in
this way as is drawn from the air by
the leaves of the plant. Again,
Clover mellows the soil. Land hav.
ing natural tendency to become
pasty, heavy and tough may be con-
verified, with liberal seeding intoa
mellow, friable seed bed, and when
we have got mellow soil we have
reduced the expense of cultivation.
"Again, a heavy coat of Clover
keeps down many kinds of weeds
that would otherwise spring up
abundsntly. 1t heads them off, just
as tobacco plant shading the ground
stops, effectually any growth be
meath its leaves. Finally, as fodder,
it is indispensable, Sheep prefer
Clover hay to the best Of Timothy
and other fine grasses. Dairymen
rank Clover high. and seed their
land accordingly, In fact, many
farmers here, SOW nothing else. But
then there are acres of land that will
not, unassisted, grow Glover plant
two inches high. For such, gyp.
sum is the resort, the natural food.
We have only to come down with
this dust and then leave the rest to
nature. The common course here
is to seed down literally, then top
dress with gypsum in the Spring,
and nov once. The next year,
more top-dressing, and either stock
lightly or NOW again and pillow un-
dor aftarUrawth "