Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1886-05-07
farmers Gntuma.
Give fools their gold u knaves their power
Let fortunes bubbles rise and fail;
Who soyys n field Or trains a flower.
Or plants tree. is more than all.
Clover as a Renovation.

Clover as a Renovation
As this is the season for sowing clio
yer seed, and in short time for plant
ing spring crops generally, | have
concluded to give you my views re
speeding the manner of preparing the
land, and Of sowing and planting each
crop-and for improving the land al
the same time. If any of your read
ers have a better plan to suggest ]
would be more than gratified it the,
will present their views through your
Journal, believing you will afford them
that privilege. | have found tina
narrowing the wheat as soon as the
frost leaves the ground in the spring,
and the land is in condition to work,
was the proper preparation for receiv
ing clover seed, and after sowing them
by rolling Immediately, l have invsr
iably procured good set Of clover,
and found the narrowing and rolling
! to materially improve the wheat. l
will say just here, that, (unlike two
agricultural writerslI regard clover
properly utilized as fertilizing crop.
is one Of the very best renovators of
worn out soil Of any plant or agent |
know of, and belive | will be sus-
tanned in this view by every practical
agriculturist of the country. What
impoverished land wants is humus or
vegetable mold, and that can not be
obtained in more prompt and eco
nomical manner than by the judicous
use of clover. My own land has de
monstrated this beyond a question.
A negro man was cultivating a field
In corn for some years previous to my
buying this farm, and had reduced its
fertility to so low degree that his
last crop was two barrels per acre,
(and that cultivated under my in
structions.) He seeded this corn land
in wheat aud applied 200 lbs. Of acid
phosphate per acre, and make five
bushels of wheat per acre. The fol-
lowing spring | soved one gallon Of
clover seed per acre, and succeeded in
getting good set of clover. This
clover was not cut, nor was it grazed
excessively, but was allowed to fall
upon the ground aud reseed itself for
three successive years. After which
time Gin the spring of 1880 l had the
field prepared as thoroughly as posi-
bic and planted in corn, using 800
pounds acid phosphate per acre, dis
tributed broadcast just before the corn
come up. The land was kept we'll
worked and free from grass by shallow
cultivation until the corn commenced
to tassel, when cultivation ceased.
The crop exceeded ten barrels per
acre, and the land is in better condi-
ton Of fertility than it was ever known
to have been before. This increase in
four years from two TO TEN barrels,
and the land left SO much improved,
is owing to clover more than any one
agent. CThe entire cost for fertilizer,
was S2.25 per acre. Iexpect to have
this land well plowed and put in as
fine filth as possible this spring and
sowed in oats with 500 lbs. dissolved
South Carolina Rock and Kainit, dis
tributed broadcast Immediately after
seeding and rolled. Ishall fallow the
oat stubble in the summer as soon as
possible after getting the oats off and
have the land put in the best possible
condition (by narrowing and rolling)
for seeding wheat. and sow about the
first of October, or earlier if | can,
and at the same time distribute on
the surface 400 pounds dissolved
South Carolina Rock and Kainit, per
acre, broadcast ard roll. | do this
with one machine. | find the appli-
cation of all fertilizers and manures
are best made on the surface, and par
ticularly acid phosphate, which when
applied through the drill hoe, together
with the grain, is liable to destroy
many of the embryo plants before they
reach the surface, and consequently
the cause Of very many less plants
than the seed sown would otherwise
produce By distributing the fertiI-
Ter broadcast. the grass and clover al
ways does much better. Oats is not
generally good crop to SOW clover
seed with, although | have procured
a good set of clover by sowing less
quantity of oats per acre, than | would
have done for full crop. Oats after
corn is good cleansing crop, and af-
ter being taken off of the land, the
farmer has ample time to prepare the
stubble for the succeeding crop of
wheat, and is much more likely to get
good set of grass by sowing timothy
with the wheat and clover in the
spring, if done properly, than by any
other plan that | know of, unless by
sowing the grass seed alone on spec
tally prepared land.-T. r. G IN the
Maryland Farmer.