Nevada County picayune., 1890-02-05
GROWING GLOVER.
The Importance of Drainage In Securing
 Good Crop.

For the ,ast ten years writes West srn farmer to the Country Gentleman, l have closely read all could find that related to growing clover. My farm is principally clay soil, what may be termed black, is underlain at depth of fifteen inches with a stiff, yellow clay. This land grows the finest quality of timothy for hay. but I soon found 1t could not be kept up by using timothy in the rotation with wheat and corn. The clover would be lifted out the first winter. and manure on some of the best of it gave no return when the season was wet. To secure clover one must tile-drain, and I am doing this in so thorough a manner as to prevent the frost from lifting the clover, believing that when clover can be grown to per lection other crops are safe.
 In the winter of 1Ss3-4 l tile-drained tho wettest parts of an eleven-acre field, putting down about 250 rods of tile. three feet deep. Since then fifty rods more in places where the clover would freeze out In the spring of 1884 this field was broken and planted in clover.
 
 1885 clover was sown at the rate of ono bushel to five or six acres. The wheat proved worthless on account of winter killing. The clover made fair catch, and had a struggle to survive the shadow of the rag weeds, which grew till after harvest when they were cut down and allowed to lie to protect the clover The weather being favorable the clover made a wonderful growth in August and Sep tember-to prevent smothering it was pastured till there was danger of kill iag the plants by tramping while frozen. The next season l cut nearly two tons of clover per acre from the field. saving the second crop for seed, cutting with Q self-raking reaper, which left the clover in gayels, out Of the way of team and machine as they passed around at work. This machine leaves the heads fully exposed to air and sun, but few of them being underneath the punches. Could have secured a huller in the next three weeks after cutting this clover would have made splendid cattle feed after hulling, as 1t cured perfectly in the gavels, but before it was hulled the rains had blackened and partially routed the straw. The clover was only fair stand. but the work of the huller showed that 1t was well filled, as 1t yielded three bushels per acre.
 The following winter the crop of hay was fed to live stock, part of the haulm passed through the stables and feed lot, the remainder was spread over the land. That going into the manure heaps was returned to the land with q sufficient quantity of other barnyard and stable manure to cover the field. The stable manure was spread as made, plowed and planted to corn, following the corn with wheat the last week in February or the first week iD March following; seeded again to clovor, same quantity of seed as before. l may say here that this crop of wheat made twenty-five bushels per acre. Tho catch of clover was excellent. as good, l think, as any clover grower could de- sire. As the season last year was very favorable for the growth of clover we had a very heavy crop after the wheat which we cut for seed but the rainy weather pre- vented our having it lied, not having it stacked. think it would have made at least one bushel per acre. To pre- vent the smothering of the plants under the gavels this clover was bauled 10 the stables and lots to increase the manure heap,