The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1886-10-15
FLOWING UNDER GLOVER.
Misapprehsnsions Current Among IntcIii
gent AgriculturiStS.

gent AErIculturi~tS.
The extravaganza claims based upon
the estimates made by agricultural
chemists as to the manurial value OF a
ton of clover lead to misrepresentation
among good many farmers. They
are led TO believe that there is feeding
value and a manurial value in addition
10 the clover, and that the farmer who
feeds a ton of clover hay to his stock
gets these two values from il. This i
a sort of illuSory view TO take of it.
and, while il is pleasant to think of, it
is of no real value practically, for the
farmer never actually gets the money
in his hands so that he can see it from
these double values of his clover.
Glover is a most useful plant. but it IS
subject TO all the law, of vegetable
growth and alimentat on. and nothing
is got out of il that il does not contain,
nor can any of Its valuable elements be
used twice over.
1t Is also common belief that clover
gets most of its valuable qualities from
the atmosphere, and that it is able to
draw the large quantity of nitrogen il
contain, from the air. or from soil in
which 50 little is contained that no
other crop could extract much. The
result of this i supposed to be that a
clover crop plowel under which fur
nishes $50 pounds Of nitrogen pr acre
is al gain. and adds 10 the soil very
liberal free contribution from the air
These views are not correct and a
times do mischief by misleading farm
ers and causing disappointment tor
clover is often Sown on v"rv poor land
in the hope that a good crop of it may
be grown which can be plowed under
and at once restore the soil 10 condi-
ton of fertility. This hope of course
is never realized, and not only disap.
poIntmeut but loss is the result The
truth is that clover, no more than any
other plant, can get from the a:mDs-
phere or any other source than the soil.
any nitro zen beyond the small quantity
which has been traced to this source
and which Is from seven 10 ten pDun l.
per acre yearly. 1t must therefore
gather from the soil itself all thar it
contains save this very m-ager cOntrl-
button, and consequently can aid
nothing 10 it more than it receives from
it. \ crop of clover, then, of any value
can only be produced upon lani Whi.n
Is quite rich in plant food, and to ex-
pect to grow IT upon poor land must al
ways lead to disappointment For this
reason the practice of piOwing und tr
clover is better adapte for preserving
fertile land in good condition than for
restoring poor land which has been
run down and exhausted bv oycrcrop-
ping This should be clearly under
stood. The most that can be expe ted
OF this plant is that its deeper roots are
able to reach the plant food which lies
below the roots Of other plants which
forage nearer the surface, and thus il
can be grown upon soils which will not
produce the other crops
In regard to its feeding and natural
value some explanation may be useful.
Clover is valuable for the nitrogenous
matter it contains both for food and
manure. If it did not yield up its valu.
able food elements in this way there
would be no inducement for the farmer
to use it. The dairyman would have
no use for it and would employ some
other crop. But when it is used for
fatting full-grown animals who do not
take up any of the nitrogen of it. or
but small portion, then this valuable
element OF it goes ont into the manure
and becomes available IN that way.
The manure from fattening animals is
ALWAYS richer than that from milking
cows. growing young stock, or working
oxen, because the carbonaceous el =
ments of the food only are used up. and
the others are rejected i'm the manure
of the former. while the latter CON
sumo nearly all OF the nitrogen n the
production of milk or flesh or the r.
pair of the muscular tissue. rs the
case may be. This being the case,
then. it appears that the commonly
accepted statement is TO be received
with due allowance for thesr facts,
and that when the improvement of the
soil is the object sought it must be con
sidered that the plowing of clover is
the best practice under certain condj-
tons, because then the surface soil
gains a large amount of fertilizing
matter; but this gain is all at the ex-
pense of the deeper soil. The land
itself has gained but very little. it has
simply been benefited rs regards the
growth of shallow-roOted crops by the
shifting of a large portion of its plant
food from an inaccessible part of the
land To better and more attaiuable
position. This Is. all. When. how
ever. farmer i fee linz cattle for fat
during the winter. clover hay is the
best fodder he can Use because it
furnishes an abundance of nitrogen to
balance the Abundant carhol of the
corn and so preserves the animals il a
healthlul condition; m a thi, nitrp-
gen is not aSsimilat.d. but Is issar u
Is an excess OF natriment. he "~eatcf
part of the most valuable coIs itlent,
on ont in ths manura,-N T. T,as.