The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-10-24
0be Farm.
General Clingman on the Fer
tilizer and Other Cues
tons.
continued. J

that for two years past he had
fed his horses entirely on clover,
either green or cured. He as
sured me that his wagon horses
were thus kept in as good con-
dition as they were when for
merly fed on corn and oats. l
have seen it stated that one
pound of good clover hay was
worth more than any grain for
a horse, or in fact superior to any
known substance except oil cake.
This gentleman said that he
sailed his green clover we'll and
put it up before it was quite dry.
He estimated one acre of his
clover as worth for horses as
much as nine acres of corn In
Yancey, calculating the average
product of the county at twenty
five bushels to the acre, which
he thought above the real yield
of the county. He also said that
two acres of clover did not re-
auire more labor than one in
corn, and that he believed that
one man could feed in Yancey,
as many horses by his labor in
producing clover as eighteen
men could with corn.
This seemed a large differ
ence, but a farmer in Transyl-
vania to whom / repeated the
statement, made q calculation
which was fifteen to one. If
either of these statements APP
proximate the truth, the differ
ence is enormous. | think it
clear that no one who examines
the subject will doubt but that
it costs far more labor to feed
live stock on corn than many
other kinds of product.
Some years since when | was
stopping at a house in Haywood
county, | had some converse
ton with the proprietor. He
told me that he had under cult
walton in corn thirty-fve acres,
and said that he did not expect
to obtain more than three hun
dred bushels. | observed hat
the greater portion of his land,
though naturally fertile, was
billy and had evidently been
very im%perfectly cultivated.
After dinner, we took a walk to
look at a native grape vine. |
found it near his stable, situated
in a piece of bottom on the
creek; of about eight acres.
Some corn was locking we'll on
the part near the stable, but
four-tifths of the ground seemed
chiefly covered by weeds. He
said that the land was very
rich, a large part of it inclined
to be wet, and that having so
much land to tend he had not
been able to work it enough to
keep the weeds under, and that
he had been obliged to give up
the greater part of it. [ said to
him, Suppose you were to cut a
ditch through the centre of it,
and dry it, then throw your sur
plus manure from the stable on
such parts as would derive most
benefit from its application,
have you any doubt but that
this piece would yield you forty
bushels to the acre." He an
swered that he had no doubt of
it. Then | added, "you would
get more corn on this lot than
you look for on your entire farm,
and with perhaps not more than
one-fourth of the labor, for as
this land lies level and is free
from stumps, &c, you could cul-
tivate it with great case. The
rest of your land you might let
stand in grass with some small
grain" Every acre of his land
would produce fine crops of clover,
orchard grass or timothy.
In Asheville, Mr.. Winslow Smith
assured me that on one acre Of land
set in orchard grass, with a little
clover intermingled, he had obtain
ed.of cured hay at asingle cutting
eight thousand five hundred and
thirty-five pounds. The bes clover
/ had ever seen was grown on some
of the lots about Asheville. What
u people in the upper part OF the
State on the undulating lands ought