The Princeton union., 1892-10-06
FOR AND ABOUT THE FARM.
USEFUL INFORMATION REGARD
ING MATTERS ABOUT THE
FARM.
Value Of Clover Seedlng--Farm
Cheese Maklng--EarlyM Maturity
Is Economy--W Wheat Sow /
ing--Poultry Feeding
in France, fA #.'
Value Of Glover Seeding.

d = =
nous advantage to any grain or cul-
tivated crop if it has during it's growth
chance to feed on the decomposing
sod grown the year before. OF all
kinds of sod that made by seeding
heavily with common red clover is the
best. Considering the slight cost OF
clover seed per acre, and the fact that
during it's growth it adds directly to
soil fertility, there is not another farm
operation in which money value in
creases so fast on farm as in this.
Setting a hen and changing a dozen
eggs into as many chicks, comes per-
haps as near making money like
usury as farmers are often permitted
to do. But the care of the hen and
chicks costs a great deal. With a
heavy seeding OF clover in March or
April on a we'll fitted seed bed, nature
can be relied upon to do therest. How
much is a. good seeding of clover sown
last spring worth now? 1t depends
much on locality, for fertility is worth
much more near a good market than
it is where it's products can not be
sold. 1t is worth more for some
crops than it is for others,
says The Cultivator. For corn or po-
tatoes it is worth more than it can be
for any small grain crop. These cul-
tivated crops double the value of any
kind of fertilizer applied to them. But
the other day a farmer, looking over
we'll seeded clover field from which
a wheat crop had just been taken, re-
marked that he would not take $l5
per acre and have the field left with
out seeding. The clover seed cost per-
haps $1.25 per acre, as it was dear
last Spring. Here was a gain OF
twelve for one since last March. It
requires good breed of sitting hens to
beat such a record as this. Clover
seed ought to be sown far more gen.
orally than it is. even if the land is to
be plowed within a year or even with
in few months. We have known
farmers to venture a seeding of clover
on Spring grain when they intended
to plow and SOW Winter wheat on the
! stubble after the oats or barley was
harvested. Sometimes the seeding
gotin this way will be good enough to
change the FARMERS calculations about
blowing it up in the Autumn. We
have known others on Will drained
land to SOW clover seed on
buckwheat, and even in corn af-
ter the last cultivation in July. The
corn shades the young clover from the
hot sunshine, and often good stand
is thus secured. It is plowed under
next Spring of course but probably
no cheaper fertility is thus secured to
the soil than from this trifling expend-
iture for clover seed. It is, we think,
true generally, wherever clover can be
made to grow, that it gives more ter
tility for less outlay either of money
or labor than any other way of ma
nuring land. 1t is above all a good
basis on which to add other fertilizers.
as it's green substance keeps the soil
moist, and thus gives value to min
eral manures that would otherwise
be inert and worthless. Thus it is
the practice ofsome market gardeners
to seed a certain part Of their land
every year with clover. These do not
try to pasture the clover or NOV it
for hay. The green manure is more
evenly distributed than they could
| distribute stable manures, and at no
| cost except chain attached to the
plow to bend the clover down and
thus insure it's complete subversion as
the land is plowed. ,~ w..