The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1881-05-11
OUR FARM BUDGET.
Red Clover, Prolific Corn, Oieomargarine,
Pruning Roses, Etc.
Red Glover.

Red Glover.
The Clover Leaf, published in South Bend,
Ind, has very interesting and well written
article upon red clover, from Professor w.
]. Beal. of the State Agricultural College. II
Iois subject of great importance to the farm
u ers, and of especial interest TO those who are
trying to keep up the fertility of their wheat
fields. We take the following extracts from
the article:
!" GLOVER seed is the best manure that a
farmer can use.' All plants draw much OF
their food from the mosphere, and OF those
used in agriculture none are exceeded by
Glover in the large proportion of nutriment
thus derived In this respect other legumin-
ous crops are much like red clover. Here
1--WE include all the clovers, vetehes, beans,
peas saintfoin. lupins, and lucerne, OF
alfalfa.
ITO keep up the fertility of our soil, we
must restore to it phosphoric acid, potash,
nitrogen and other substances which are
\ found in farm crops. OF the three very i'm
portant and valuable substances just named
nitrogen is the most precious and costly to
obtain. In various places there are abund-
ant supplies of potash and phosphoric acid.
y As may be said, these are in sight Agri-
cultural chemists are now studying on the
problem of the future supply of nitrogen for
agricultural purposes. So far, clover seems
to be the important factor in this problem.
whole crops of clover are often plowed
under to restore or keep up the fertility OF
the soil, but am safe in saying that il has
been proven a better practice to cut off the
A clover, feed it and use the manure, than to
pillow under the whole crop. In other words
for various reasons, all of which may moi
seem plain il has been shown that blowing
under a clover stubble is followed by about
as good results (Often better as though the
whole crop was turned under. Again
Voelker shows that land on which clover ha:
been grown for seed in the preceding yea
yields better crop of wheat than it doe
I when the clover is mOwn twice for hay, o.
a even once only, and afterward fed off BY
sheep
- al can hardly do better than give her,
some of the conclusions of DIR. Voelcker il
. regard to the great value of clover. | fine
tthese in the Journal of the ROYAL Agricultu
= raj Society of England. for 1868, on page
Az:
y l. A good crop of clover removes from
the soil more potash, phosphoric acid, linn,
and other mineral matters, which enter int
the composition of the ashes of our cult
waited crops, than any other crop usually
grown in this country.
. There lS5fully three times as mucl
nitrogen in a crop of clover as in the average
- produce of the grain and straw of wheat pc
8. Clover is an excellentpreparatory croI
for wheat.
f. During the growth of clover, a larg,
amount of heterogeneous matter accumulate:
in the soil.
5. This accumulation. which is Creates
in the surface soil, is due to decaying leaves
dropped during the growth of clover, and tC
an abundance of roots, containing wheI
4 dry from p 70 per cent. OF nitrogen
n 6. The clover roots are stronger and also
more numerous and hence more leaves fal
on the ground when clover is grown for seed
than when 1t is mown for hay; in conse
Quence more nitrogen is left after clover
seed than after hay.
Z. This crop causes a large accumulation
of nitrOgenOus matters, which are gradually
changed in the soil to nitrates.
8. Glover not only provides abundance o
nitrogenOus food, but delivers this food in
=. readily available power Ia nitrates) NOR
gradually and continuously, and with
great deal more certainty of good result
than such food can be applied to the land il
the shape of heterogeneous top-dressings.
''The above conclusions are sOmewha
condensed, but it would be we'll for ever,
farmer to cut them out and post them ~
where he could read them daily, until the
were indelibly fixed in his mind"