Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1874-08-14

5srieaItmraI.

duced, said to be much earlier than any
that ever came before, and one would sup
pose that withal the new improvements in
the early direction something had really
been gained. We have a right to expect
something surely, yet we think that on the
whole the tomato is no earlier than it ever
was. If there have been varieties earlier
than others, they have died out, and left
US just where we started from. Thirty or
forty years ago the great effort was to have
tomatoes fit to eat on the fourth of july.
This was the great particular time, ard
any one succeeding in getting a good fair
quantity by this date, was regarded az
among the best gardeners. We are not
sure but this was regarded as a good test
of ones qualifications. At any rate, will
you have ripe tomatoes by the fourth ?,
was the standing question with the million
in horticulture. And how is it now How
much earlier than by the fourth can any
one about here have tomatoes p We know
OF none now more than in the time gone
by.
One of our friends has made the tomato
question an especial study this season. col
lecting all the varieties he could get, early
and late. To his astonishment the earliest
was the Trophy, and yet though it has a
good reputation as superior variety. it
has not been celebrated fot its earliness.
lie does not think, however, it will always
be IN advance. His theory is that they are
never true on time, that what is the earIi-
est one season may not be at another, and
so on. How this may be we don't know.
but we think it will surprise many that the
trophy should this year prove an extra
early kind. He gathered his Trophies ON
the twenty-first of July not just one or so.
but enough for his family dinner and al
though this is not the fourth, it is regard
ed here as pretty good for this particular
season, and pretty good for the Trophy we
think at any rate. If fanS one in this yici-
nifty has been able to beat This fair and
square in the open ground, and not against
walls or other favored places, we should
like to know, and also the kind. If there
is really an extra early tomato we should
like to know what it is.
On our own premises, it is true, we ate
our first ripe tomato, only one, on the 10Th,
and about every day since. On the 23d
we had family stew of them. But we had
not mess until the 23d, and therefore
cannot compete with our young friend.
Our variety is the Fiji improved'-at
least it is so-called. Germantown Tele-
graph.
CLOvER.-There is no crop raised on
the farm which tends more to the improve
ment of the soil than clover, and as for
age crop it is equal to any other crop
under cultivation. Though it is more diff
fcult to make into hay than timothy or
herds grass, yet if any part is lost in max
ing and gathering the clover hay, the soil
will receive the enriching deposit. Clover
will grow in almost any soil which is not
too wet, but its favorite is deep sandy
loam, in which the long tap root can pene-
trate deep down. 1t borrows more of its
growth from the atmosphere than most
other crops. The tap root draws most of
its nourishment from the subsoil, and the
tops extract largely from the dew and the
atmosphere, thereby greatly enriching the
surface soil for wheat and timothy. A
good crop of clover in full blossom, tops and
roots, will sum up in weight between eight
and ten tons of green vegetable matter per
acre to plow under to enrich and mellow
the soil and where can be found cheaper
manure to improve a heavy soil ? Lime
and clover are the cheapest means by which
to enrich the land for the growth of wheat.
Stable manure is decidedly the best, but it
is entirely too dear, and farmers must re-
sort to other means to keep up the fertility
of their land.
l have met with much success in raising
clover among oats, but the ground must be
wel[cultivated to ensure good growth Of
clover. After the oats crop is sown and
wel-harrowed, next pass over the field
with drag to crush the clods and level
the ground. The drag to be six feet long
with block nailed on one of the hind cor
ners underneath, By which every bout
will mark off land twelve feet wide, which
is the right width to SOW clover-seed at two
casts and after the clover is sown harrow
the ground to cover the seed.
To sow clover seed on winter-grain,
March is the right time when there is snow
on the ground. Take span of horses to
sled and mark the field offin lands of pro-
per width to sow by then let the sewers
follow the sled. Clover can be sown much
evener on the snow than otherwise, be-
cause you can see precisely whether you
are sowing it even or not. In ny opinion
clover is underestimate by farmers, and
should be much more in cultivation than
is general. A clover lot near the plg-pen
can be cut four or i've times during the
summer if not left go to blossom, and it
makes the most economical feed for swine !;
and lift is moved down about the time the
blossom begins to form and slightly wilted
and free from dew and moisture and pack
ed away with sufficient salt, the hogs will
relish it as much in the winter season as
cattle, and it makes good feed for sows and
pigs.-Cor. Gerna0ntotch Telegraph.