Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-05-29
The Clover Crop.

| TIE relative Importance OF the clover
crop in the farm economy has of late years
been so generally recognized that it has
become not inaptly termed King Clover.
In the estimation of many farmers it sur
passes corn, and achieves results which nc
other plant is capable of. 1t might be
said that if corn is the great western crop,
clover is the great eastern crop, for the
old eastern soils need the fertilizing inhu-
ence of the clover for the foundation of all
other crops. But even in the west clover
must assert its power, and come to be re-
cognlzed as playing an important part In
any system of soil improvement. In adj
dition to this crops beneficial work of in
creasing the fertility Of the soil it has also
the advantage of furnishing fine hay, and
fine flowers for the apiarist.
Thousands of farmers have been expert
menting with clover during the last half
dozen years. devising means of rejuvinat-
ing worn out soils by means of these leg
luminous plants, and striving to act direct
ly or indirectly to the mineral plant food
of the soil. Where good patches of
clover have been obtained, and where other
favorable circumstances have contributed
to the growth of The plants, enthusiastic,
and often exaggerated reports have been
received. From other sections however,
the clover remedy has but little recommen-
dalton. Experiments always result more
or less adverse criticism, but this does not
prove the futility of the efforts put forth.
From these good and bad, trustworthy and
untrustworthy experiments, some general
and leaking truths concerning this crop
have been deduced
Ac q c,,hcoilar tho oloyar croo ie dim oct
perfect; it keeps the subsoil where it be-
longs and the fertility where it should be-
works on all kinds of SOIL and is good for
all kinds of crops. 1t subsoils the field
better than any pillow, and gives hay enough
to pay for all labor. By opening up the
subsoil the clover plants give other crops
better chance to range in search of food
and water, a benefit that must be recogniz-
ed by ALL 1t is the only crop that leaves
the soil richer after it has been harvested,
and it has taken farmers long time to
appreciate the exact extent to which this
goes Many still believe in turning the
green clover under as the only means of
doing this they are still clinging to old
the soil more good than the green stalks,
supply the soil with such an excessive
amount of plant food that succeeding
crops cannot utilize it. A great deal of
this valuable plant food will then be
washed away by the rain and drains, and
should not be adopted on any soil where a
good catch of clover can be obtained Ex-
ception may be made to such poor soils
where only very scanty clover catch can
be obtained. Worn out soils suffering
greatly from lack of plant food can fire.
quently accommodate all of the green clo-
yer that is turned under without wasting
it.
Glover benefits soils in other ways than
fertilizing them with plant food, and as
experiments have shown it is a valuable
agent for draining land. Many of our
soils suffer from an excess of moisture on
the surface. In early spring they become
hard and baked and pools of water settle
over them. There is no porosity about
such soils, and the waters which have
accumulated On them during the winter
must either evaporate or run off on surface
drains. A good clover crop will frequent
ly remedy this, and place such soils in a
good drainage condition. The large roots
OF une plants even penetrate 10 Ine SuDSOll,
and when they decay they leave the land
in porus condition. Through these
small channels the water drains off. With
each successive crop these channels are in
creased in number and size. In under
draining land the farmer should subsoil
on either side of the drains and then SOW
clover as soon as possible. The drains can
then be put farther apart, and an ideal soil
drainage that will surpass that system
adopted by market gardeners who from
necessity must keep their land under the
pillow all of the time. The clover mellows
the soil as nothing else can.
AS hay crop clover needs few COM
panions. Timothy will bring better
price, probably, but clover will surpass it
for pasture crop. The rapid and prolific
growth of clover will ever make it an i'm
portant crop for grass, pasture and hay,
and it would be grown abundantly for
these if its other beneficial qualities were
not known.
Deep Flowing.
There is a prevailing belief that deer
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