Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1878-02-14
AGRICULTURAL.
CLIO YER.

little to the acre, and Tor Their bene-
fit we publish the following from the
Baltimore Sun: 1T is an jndisputa-
bic fact that the succeeding crop OF
wheat grown on land from which a
heavy crop Of clover has been taken,
will be much heavier than if no clio
yer had been there. How is this ?
Such could not be the case if all the
food of plants was derived from the
soil. for then the soil would, upon the
removal of the clover, be less able to
produce a crop Of wheat than before.
But the fact is that plants do not de-
rive all their food, nor even the prln-
cipal part it, from the soil. Repe;t t.,
ed chemical tests have demonstrated
the fact that from 95 to 80 per cent.
of the entire substance Of agricultural
plants is derived either directly or in
directly from the atmosphere. Not
that plants take all the % rer cent.
through their leaves and stems above
ground, but that the air contains the
elements which principally 90 to
build up the structure Of plants,
which being absorbed by the rains
and snow and dew, are washed down
into the soil from whence they are
taken up by the roots of the plant to
mid in building up its structure. Prot.
Noelcker (whose authority as chem,
list is unchallenged) says: 1T is L
fact that the larger the amount OF
mineral matter you remove in a crop
of clover, and the larger the amount
of nitrogen which is carried off in the
clover hay, the richer the land be-
comes And he accounts for it thus:
the clover plants take nitrogen from
the atmosphere and manufacture it
into their cwn substance, which on
decomposition of the clover roots and
leaves, produces abundance of ammo
mia; that in rea 'ity the growing Of
clover is equivalent to u great extent
to manuring with Peruvian guano.
And lie then goes en- to show that
there is larger quantity Of real ma
nure in crop Of clover than in the
largest dose of Peruvian guano far
mer would ever think Of applying
Now the professor must be either
right or wrong in his proposition.
Which is it? Let us see: No one
doubts the fact that clover either
takes a part Of its food from the air,
Gas the Professor says,) then clover
really adds to the store Of plant food,
and is an lmprover Of the soil. But
if from the SOIL then it certainly has
a tendancy 10 impoverish rather than
improve it. We rather think the Pro
fes8or right, and that science, il this
case, is nothing more than natural
law exemplifed. And whilst chemic-
al investigation shows that a consider,
able part Of the substance found IN the
ashes of the plants is derived from the
soil, yet that the main part OF the
combustible portions comes from the
air, both through the leaves and the
roots after having been washed down
by rains, &c. Another very lmpor-
tant office which clover PERFORMS
and with which it is not usually cred
ited--is that when sown thick y 1t
not only smothers out nearly all the
class of annual weeds the first season,
but so weakens or partially smotEers
the biennial class that they mature
little or no seed the first season, and
almost entirely disappear the second.
And, besides this, it prevents the
seeding Of the soil with fresh stock
Of weeds, such as usually follow a
with ordinary farm yard
material, and with which the latter Is
more or less filled"
Because of the importance of Glow
er-growing to farmers generally, the
above will be followed by articles OF
equal or greater interest, on the same
subject, in several succeeding issues
Of the Clarion. Our aim is to increase
the stock Of valuable information in
regard to agriculture, that there shall
be constant Improvement in farming
and corresponding increase in yields
and this strikes US as the proper sea-
son to bring out the facts on the point
under consideration, that they may
come in play and be useful during the