The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1880-06-10
Green Manurlng.

Green Manurlng.
We commend to our readers the fol-
lowing excellent article on the above
subject by q writer in the Practical
Farmer: 1.-THE practice of growing
some green crop in the fall, whenever
the conditions are such as to make it
practicable, l believe to be OF prime i'm
portance, giving several decided ad-
vantages which would be lost if the
seeding for such crop is neglected, as
it usually is. The conditions for grow
ing are, any grain stubbie where the
seeding to grass or clover has failed to
grow, and which would otherwise lie
bare the remainder of the season or
growing up to weeds. Such stubble
fields should, as soon as possible after
harvest, be fitted by cultivating or some
other tillage, for reseeding with some
grains to make a good fall growth, and
generally there will be half enough
grain littering the ground from the
former crop to reseed it again. Also
all corn and potato ground where the
crop has been taken off early enough
for such another crop to get started
except in case of corn ground being
seeded to rye-as l often have done it
at the last time of cultivating the corn.
This should recommend doing with all
fields of corn save such as l choose to
keep for a crop following the corn, and
all the rest grown to make pasture and
a good green crop to plow under when
the land is wanted for another crop. l
find for this practice either rye or oats
to be the best grains to seed with; if
designed only for the fall growth oats
are far more preferable. The cool,
moist fall weather is so adapted to their
development that they make more
than double the fall growth
the rye would. Some that l
sowed for this purpose late in
August made dense growth, standing
a foot high. Butif a spring growth is
wanted, either for pasturing or for soil
ing purposes, or for plowing under, l
know of nothing as good and that will
make as early and quick a growth as
rye. The advantages of such green
cropping are-first, shading and shell
tering the soil from summer sun and
winter blast; second, 1t pre-occupies the
land with a clean crop, which, without
it. would be growing to weeds or some
foul growth that would be a detriment
to the land, or what sometimes think
is still worse, will lie bare and barren,
which has a deadening effect on any
land; third, it will make fine fall and
spring pasturage or a growth to be
plowed under. l seeded this year, to
keep my potatoes, where / plowed un-
der good crop of it, from being affect
ed by the summer drought, as it
would have been without it. / had a
very good test of that with field OF
potatoes this year, planted on last years
corn ground, which was sowed to rye
at the last cultivation of the corn; but
the seed not holding out three-cor-
nered strip of short rows was left with
out seeding. This spring, about the
goth of May, as the rye commenced to
head and was standing knee-high to the
horse, plowed it under. using u chain
to draw it nicely under the furrow; but
noticed then that the part with no rye
on was becoming foul with weeds, and
through the summer tho outlines oi
this vacant place showed very distinct
ly in the potato tops, not being as
green, and smaller than on the rest
of the field, and the yield was not
the field yielded so well that it was evi-
dent that the green manuring had been
very good for them. After harvesting
two fields of winter grain 1 found that
the clover seeding on them had failed
so cultivated these fields and sowed
them to rye about the middle of Au.
gust. and it was pleasure all the fall
for me to see the clean and green ap
pearance of these fields as they com
! pared with the foul condition of mos
of the stubble fields i'm this section (fol
nearly all the clover sowed on then
failed to grow on account of an earl,
summers drought.) These fields gavl
about two months pasturing for hun
dred sheep, leaving them (the sheep a
well as the field) apparently all the bet
ter for it. We all think clover to be tn
best of all to plow under for green ma
! nuring, but many times, either from
{ the failure of clover or for the want o
time enough to grow it, the farme
could improve his land materially ant
cheaply by growing it to buckwheat, o
3 oats, or rye, for plOwing under instead
r The opportunities for putting in sue
a crops will often be found By the farme
Q after he has once seen the advantage Q
: them and how quickly and cheaplv the
can be grown. This green manuring
u as far as it can be practiccd, is don
much cheaper than by any other plan
e Besides it keeps the land sheltered an
clean from the harvest of one crop
e the time Of putting it into another.
III