Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1876-09-28
Farm unn AoustboIn.
-.:-er Is : Weed Destroyer i.


auce in successful agriculture. have been
So continuously and yariously sung, that
o add more TO the long catalogue OF it,
benefits would seem like repeating IAN
old oit-joId tale" But it j. not SO, for
the most novel and equally important
results OF stocking the land with a thick
set of clover, which will now he stated.
have not, that know OF, before been
noted.
Ia a twenty acre field of thick set clo-
Vcr-which am now harvc>tin. be-
tween heavy rains. and during DAYS and
almost weeks oil ext heat said field
having been more than twenty years
under annual crops, without clover, and
the iapd having become weed, the ef-
iects of clover in >mothcring weed, and
practically destroying them, are clear
enough When the clover i eown thick
enough GA to T. pounds being -own IN
this case,) The growth j. thick enough
60 smother ont nearly all the annual class
OF weeds the first season, 80 That they
1ecome extinct; and the biennial class
are 80 weakened CT partially >mothered
at the same time, that they mature little
OF no seed the first scasouot clover, and
almost entirely disappear from TIE sec
end Years crop. y thick growth OF
clover Is the most electual weed cxtcr.
minator which has come nuder ms Oh
servauou. But in addition To the ~
acre field first noticed, there j. another
marked instance OF how clover clean,
arabic lands oi common weeds Ia i,
II acre field, part OF which contains an
old orchard, there are about seven acres
Of corn following clover. This clover
stood two Years, the soil being plowed
only Just previous TO plantin. the corn
One very conspicuous thing about ;hi,
piece OF corn is that the corn has made
a very '"tf9. ...,i ---~---:..--- ----.L
rom lis first appearance above ground,
and though late planted is now an nm
usually fine pioce-much larger and
more uniform than that on adjoining
land which was heavily MANFRED with
the dung Of stall fed cattle; in fact, 80
that comparatively a. we'll as positively.
clover sod j, the best thing hereabou,,
%" which 10 raise cora.
But the most noticeable, because uu-
usual thing about this corn or clover
sod, i, there have been no weeds in it
since the corn was planted, and though
looseued three times with a cultivation.
none have been induced to appear by
that means. II seems, therefore, that
two seasons in clover completely
cleaned this land OF weeds. for there
were plenty ofwecd seeds in the ground.
First, then, clover, il thick enough. as il
should be, i a most effective and sure
weed eXtermiuator; second, j. leaves
the land mellower and in q better con-
dltion, as shown by the corn itself, than
ordinary manuring: third, il saves such
labor and cost, and compared with the
usual course of maturing, either in
pTlng or fall, even when manure is
plenty, which j. hot always the case:
fourth, much labor is saved in corn or
clover seed, that i indispensable where
the ground i fresh MANFRED and weedy
as j. generally the accompaniment.
1t is great consideration to have the
land cleaned 50 effectively without mis-.
ing crop, and 50 far a. a summer FOL.
lowing may be intended TO clean the
land, clover would seem to be equally
effective, and obviously much more
economical, and resort to clover, if
the seed be clean, prevents the seeding
OF the soil with fresh stock of weeds.
such as following ordinary manuring
with farmyard material, in the usual
unrstted condition.
In addition TO the facts already stated.
| must not fail TO repeat that the uni
form and healthy growth of the corn on
the clover soil is SO conspicuous and re-
markable that it has never been equalled
in the last twenty years in my corn
growing experimental. w. c., in
Country Gentleman.