Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1889-04-25

IMPORTANCE OF CLOVER.
How Its Good Seeding Helps the Ownses
Of Exhausted Farm Lands.
Success in clover seeding is one OF
the essentials of successful agriculture.
II the same assurance could be given
In clover and grass seeding that is OBJ
tanned in grain seeding. much Of
the uncertainty of farming would be
removed. It was wisely said by an
ancient writer that '.grass is the
foundation of good husbandry." If We
can class clover as grass We may
safely adopt the same statement for
fields of clover give evidence Of a
fertile soil. 1t may be accepted as an
axiom that land that will grow q good
crop of clover will likewise grow. sue
ceeding, good crop of grain. In all
my experience. of upward Of forty
years of growing clover, can not
failure of grain crop when the land
was previously we'll set in clover. It is
acknowledged to be the best renovat-
ing crop we can raise for exhausted
lands, but practically it is of little
value in restoring really exhausted
land, for without some fertility in the
soil or the application of fertilizing
matter it will not seed or grow a crop.
In my early experience in clover
growing. about 1910, the land not
having before grown clover. there
was no thought of failure to get a
good seeding, even with less than half
the quantity of seed now usually
sown. Our lands were then in their
virgin fertility for clover, though
somewhat exhaused for wheat-grow-
ing, having been fifteen or twenty
years devoted mainly to wheat. On
the introduction of clover, and plow-
ing it in. lands greatly revived. and
wheat and clover were grown, alter
nate years, during the succeeding fifteen
or twenty years. with uniform success,
and farmers had period of unusual
prosperity. Failure. however, fol-
lowed. as it will to all countries con-
stantly devoted to special crops. Glover
seeding became difficult, and failures
of a catch were frequent. Wheat also
failed, and a different system of farm
ing was rendered necessary.
Mixed farming was then adopted,
and rotation of crops. together with
s1ock-raising and feeding, for the
making of manure, was the means of
restoring our lands. and since then lit
tie difficulty has been experienced in
seeding to clover, which occurs but
once in four years. 1t has been my
uniform practice to seed to clover and
timothy On all lands in wheat. SOW
as early as is possible in spring, after
snow is off the fields and the land is
settled so as to admit of travelling over
it, while freezing and thawing of the
surface will so work the seed into the
soil as to insure termination.
Drought is the chief cause of failure in
clover seeding on soil in fair condi-
ton of fertility, and even in the dryest
seasons when sown early on well-pre-
pared soil there has seldom been
any failure; even in 'S7, the dryest
season I ever knew in this section.
I had fair catch of clover and
timothy. 1t is common practice with
70, 70 1n1o h0
ground is settled and frosts are over,
when, unless the season be quite wet.
the seed will not germinate; or, if it
start, it is very liable to be killed by
drought in June, before the germ has
sufficient strength to resist it, hence a
failure, which early seeding would
have avoided. do not fear the de-
struction of the young clover plant by
the late spring frosts, as many do, for
do not know that ever lost seed
ing from that cause in all my exper-
fence. The seed used is, 4 quarts tim
othy, 6 pounds red clover and 2 pounds
alsike clover per acre. drill in with
the wheat, seeding about 200 pounds
euperphosphate with some so pounds
gypsum per acre, the latter for the
benefit of the clover. The gypsum is
mixed with the phosphate to save the
labor of second sowing. though ]
think if applied on the young clover
in spring the effect is quite as good,
especially if there is rainfall to dis
solve it before the drought comes on.
N. Y. Tribune.
The First American Shoemaker.