Delaware Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1843-1874, 1874-01-01

GLOVER As A PEwr,L,zER.. A ., rrrson.
dent Of the Country Gc,ifie,,tn writes:
In May. 1860, DR.. Voelcker, In a lectur be-
fore the Ro, al Agricultural Society Of Ene,ud,
said: al have frequently bean. siIuck w the
remarkable luxuriant aud s'rony ann A. &c
OF wheat after . heavy crop of clover has cen
removed from the land. ut first tioubte 1t |;
but at last was obliged to confess t6at In
variably fellows wben you get a good crp OF
clover, that you also get a good crop OF weat.
An enormous amount Of iitrogeiious oranic
matter Is left in the land after the nemoal of
tho clover crop, and this gradually decay and
furnishes ammonia" Also that Il have ONE
to the conclusion that the very best pfepartlon,
the very best OF manure, II may saw ., is
good crop Of clover. Now, at frst, ptling
seems more contradictory than TO say you
can remove very large quantity Of boa min
eral and organic plant food FROM the II, and
yet make Il productive. as In the case d clover.
Nevertheless 1t is fact that the iarger tie
| amount Of mineral matter you reinoein crop
OF clover, and the larger the amount 4 nitrogen
which 10 carried of In clover hay, t,Iicher the
land becomes" This Is Z chemical anomaly
which DIR. Voelcker had been invssyating ten
years, and only during the previous eason had
he been able W explain It, Then heound that
In "chemical point OF view, clover tho most
exhausting crop you can grow, Will IN prsc'
tical point OF view 1t Is the mostlcstorative
crop, and the best preparation for wheat you
can possibly grow" The amount 4 nitrogen
and mineral matter secured by one years
growth OF clover, Is several times ~ much MS Is
needed for crop Of wheat. A vaslau,ount Of
mineral matter is brought within le reach Of
lhs wheat crop by growing clover. by means
of It's long roots clover peneirates large mass
Of soil; 1t gathers up the phosphorc acid and
potash, which are reached by its Dng, deep
| roots, and when the land Is plowtl the roots
were LEFT IN the ruiface SOIL aud decaying, they
furnish the mineral substances most needed Nv
the wheat plant. Without the help Of clio.
yer roofs, u large portion OF these substances
| must remain III locked up condition IN which
they ale Not Available for the growing wheat
The accumulation q nitrogen in lh, soil by
growing clover is also very large. "'The clover
plants take the nitrogen from tbs atmosphere.
and manufactures 1t into their own substance.
which Oh decomposition Of the clover roots and
leaves produce abundance of ammonia In
real ty, the growing Of clover Is equivalent, To a
great extent, to mauuring with Peruvian guano.
aud there Is larger amount Of trogen accu.
INFLATED in the surface soil than In the heaviest
application Of guam" any farmer would think
OF making DR.. Noelcker all shows q, the
result Of frequent and thorough examinations.
that when clover Is pasur there is much less
plant food accumulated In the surface .oil tban
when it Is cut for hay, aud that there ia less
when clover is cut twice for hay, than when
cut once and allowed To go 10 seed. The re.-
son for the first is thai theru 10 much less grow,
especially Of roots, where clover is pas.ured; as
to the second, that large amount VI clio, er
leaves drop and enrich the soil when clover
goes to seed.
Now, Messs. Johnston and Geddes have
o'en Two OF the best practical farmers in the
country; and Dr. Voelckel, tllomgh OH Of tb,
best agricultural chemists OF the day, has. a,
least III grcaI part, been bi ought l., bis present
views, a. against his previous scieutuc opIn.
IONS, 10y the very beneficial elects secured by
Farmers III gloaiug clover. Hence We and
'clehre and practical experience Agreeing IN
regard 10 the remarkable ferilizinQ ettcts and
results secured BY iaising clover. And must
now he apparent to every Intelligent reader,
mat the three most important constituents (
crops, l" wit, nitrogen, potash, and lie phos-
pilates, can be obtained much easier a,,lcheap-
er by glowing clover than in any ollie Eay.-
ir"c1 1t is claimed that, al least IN grain
iai'hs' where u rotation OF crops and tpq uent
SEEDING 10 clover eau be practical, the, ia no
need % the very heavy ami expensive oanur
lls which was formerly recommended
stu, 1t may not be best to go To the oler ex-
iielne, and depend altogether on dow; the
best routsa Is tn ma -, all the barn yard ganure
That can be secured, 10y feeding all qtable
crops on the farm, and then grow clover aoHpb,
with the help OF this manure, TO make n. land
itch.