The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1873-12-05
farMerG' Column,
Speed the E'IOC."
Glover as q Fertilizer.

A correspondent of the Country Gentle.
man writes:
In May, 1869, DIR. Voclckcr, in II lecture
before the Royal Agricultural Society of
England said Il have frequently been
struck with the remarkably luXurinnt APP
pearance OF wheat after IL heavy crop Of
clover has been removed from the land
l Mt first doubted it; but at last | was
obliged to confess that it invariably follow
when You get good crop Of clover, that
you also get good crop Of wheat. An
enormous amount of heterogeneous organic
matter is left in the land after the removal
OF the clover crop, and this gradually de-
Gays and furnishes ammonia" Also that
have come to the conclusion that the
very best preparation, the very best of ma
nure, II may say so, is good crop of
clover. Now, at first, nothing seems more
contradictory than to say that you can re-
move very large quantity of both miene.
raj and organic plant food from the soil,
and yet make it more productive, rs in the
case OF clover. Nevertheless it is n fact
that the larger the amount of mineral mat
ter you remove IN crop of clover, and the
larger the amount of nitrogen which is car
RED OF in clover hay, the richer the land
becomes" This is a chemical anomaly
which DIR. Voelcker had been investiga-
ting ten years, and only during the pre-
vlous season had he been able to eXDlain
1t. Then he found that in "chemical
point of view, clover is the most exhaust
ing crop you can grow, while in a prscti-
cal point OF view it is the II ost restorative
crop, and the best preparation for wheat
you can possibly grow" The amount of
nitrogen and of mineral matter secured by
one years growth of clover, is several times
as much as is needed for crop of wheat.
A vast amount ofmineral matter is brought
within the reach of the wheat crop by
growing clover. By means of its long roots
clover penetrates large mass of soil it
gathers up the phosphoric acid and the
potash, which are reached by its long, deep
roots, and when tho land is plowed the
roots are left in the surface soil, and decay
ing, they furnish the mineral substances
most needed by the wheat plant. With
out the help of clover roots, large portion
OF these substances must remain in locked
up condition, in which they are not availa-
BILE for the growing wheat. The accumula-
ton of nitrogen in the soil by growing
clover is also very large. "The clover
plants take the nitrogen from the atmos-
phere, and manufacture it into their own
substance, which, on decomposition of the
clover roots and leaves, produces album
dance ofammonia. In reality, the growing
of clover is equivalent, to great extent,
to manuring with Peruvian guano; and
there is larger amount of nitrogen accu-
mulated in the surface soil than in the
heaviest application ofguano any farmer
would think ofmaking DR.. Voeickeraiso
shows tho rnsI1t Of
ough examinations, that when clover is
pastured there is much less plant food &C.
cumulated in the surface soil than when it
is cut for hay, and that there is less when
clover is cut twice for hay, than when cut
once and allowed to 90 to seed The rea-
son for the first is that there is much less
growth, especially ofroots, where clover is
pastured; as to the second, that large
amount OF clover leaves drop and enrich
the soil when clover goes TO seed.
Now, Messrs Johnston and Geddes have
been two of the best practical farmers in
the country and DR.. Voelcker, though
one OF the best agricultural chemists of the
day, has, at least in great part, been
brought to his present views, as against his
previous scientific opinions, by the very
beneficial effects secured by farmers in .
growing clover. Hence we find silence and
practical experience agreeing in regard to
the remarkable fertilizing effects and re-
suits secured by raising clover. And it
must now be apparent to every intelligent
reader, that the three most important con-
stituents of crops, to w.t. nitrogen, potash,
and the phosphates can be obtained much
easier and cheaper by growing clover than
in any other way. Hence it is claimed
that, at least on grain farms, where rota-
ton of crops and frequent seeding to clover
can be practiced, there is no need of the
very heavy and expensive manuring which
was formerly recommended.
Still, it may not be best to go to the
other extreme, and depend altogether on
clover ; the best course is to make all the
barn-yard manure that Can be secured, by
feeding all suitable crops on the farm, and
then grow clover enough, with the help of
this manure, to make the land rich.