The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1879-05-01

when the heritage Is suffered u nc anu
rot on the ground, and why clover Is
bad for an orchard if the crop IS mown
and carried off, Is pretty clearly shown
bv the following figures, which give the
contents in pounds of nitrogen and MN
eral matter contained in one ton OF dry
clover hav. and also the amount OF the
same substances III a ton OF fairly good
stable manure:
clover Hay. lbs. Manure. lbs;
~
P~hosphoric acid...........B .
Salphuric acid.......... -
Lime. n
MagneSla -
=
Rejecting as something which we can
not seize the IS lbs. Of nitrogen, VI have
in the form Of good, substantial ashes
lis lbs. Of mineral matter, or three
times as much Of the same substances
as are contained IN a single ton OF ma
nure: and therefore one ton OF dry clio
yer hay spread in an orchard will do as
much good as three tons OF manure 10
be sure, in the case where the clover is
crown on the spot where wasted, the
mineral matter Is contributed by the
soil. but those substances which the clO-
yer roots take up from the soil are apt
to be out Of the reach OF trees feeding
roots, or, if within them, in an unassim-
liable state. In these few facts probably
lie the explanation Of the difference Of
opinion among practical men as to the
value Of clover III an orchard. 1t sOWn
and carried off, no crop is more exhaust
i've but if sown and left on the ground,
no crop will keep all the sound fruit
bearing trees in a more healthy state.
We often hear of land being clover
sick"-that is, land which, having
borne crops of clover for a certain mum
her of years in succession, finally refuses
to yield further crops. When we come
to consider that two tons of hay is not a
large crop OF clover, and when that is
taken off five years in succession, we find
the soil has been deprived of 1880 lbs.
of mineral matter and 500 lbs. of nitro
gen per acre, and should have a rest.
After a rest of five years clover may be
grown again, the explanation being that
these mineral matters were only partial
" exhausted from the soil-only such
persons as were In an assimilable form
%aereation of the soil, freezing and thaw-
ing, heat and cold, being necessary to
reach all mineral matters and change
them before they can be made soluble
and be taken up BY the plant.
Coal ashes and sand are generally sup
posed TO be the most sterile of all sub
stances: but such is not the case with
respect to the one or the other, save in
exceptional instances. While coal ashes
OF themselves alone, when new and
fresh from thefre or the furnace. scarce
~ contain elements of plant food enough
to produce the least benefit to crops, if
III that state they are mixed with sand
or COMMON garden or field earth, they
add greatly to the fertility of each of
them, the extra fertility arising both
from their mechanical formation, which
favors aereation and the mineral sub
stances contained in them, which help
the solution Of other similar substances
III the earth. A correspondent of the
american Cultiyator says he commenced
putting coal ashes on a sandy patch as
bare and barren as a highway, three
years ago, repeating the process every
spring, and the result is, the piece is
covered with white clover. which was
cut IN June and July, and was as green
and fresh as in spring. For sandy land.
or for land of any kind, there is smoothing
better than the ashes of coal, unless It
be wood ashes, and it will not be many
years before the fact comes to be gene
rally recognized.
Another use for Indian clover, or beg
gar 5 lice, has been found and also for
another plant Of a similar vigorous
growth and hitherto worthless charac-
ter. The story is briefly told in the re-
port OF the Department of Agriculture
of 1877, and to this effect: On some
OF the sandy barrens of South Carolina.
near Charleston, we think, beegar's lice
was sown the land having been previ-
ously stirred a good growth having
been obtained, it was plowed in as a
green crop, at the epoch of the blossom
In due season the land was soyyn
wheat, and the result In bushels was
a surprise to the successful experiment.
ers; but the explanation is an easy one.
lice, is no doubt, a plant strong
In potash under the form of a nitrate.
like hemp, some of the species umaraa-
M many other common weeds.
which are great storers up of nitrogen
IN their substance. and which. when
buried III a soil similar to the sandy one
Of South Carolina, enriches it so much
m vegetable matter that, being before
'ich enough inmineral ones, great crops
wheat are produced. 1t is more than
probable-it is; indeed, almost certain
many of the supposed worn-out
OF the South, old cotton and to-
oacco lands, lack one thing only. and
thing vegetable matter, which can
,e added III the most expeditions and
All by a series of green
-rops plowed under.