Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1892-03-31
MONEY I'm clovERsEEp.
One Of the Most Profitable Crops Tn,
Can Re Raised On n Farm.

One Of the Most Profitable Crops That
Can BE Raised Farm
Farmers are ever on the lookout for
some crop which they can raise and
for which there shall be q ready sale
and good prices Last year cloverseed
was so high that the retail dealer pro-
cured 1t at high rates and sold it at
cost thus losing. or rather sacrificing.
his profits and losing even the cost of
transportation This he did to hold
his patrons and trusting to profits on
other seeds to carry on his business
This is not an isolated instance, nor Is
it confined to dealers in seeds Some
thing like it occurs in every business
and in almost every year.
If what has here been said be true,
i argue that cloverseed will be q good
crop and more often a profitable crop
in any year. The more the value Of
clover as forage plant and also as q
fertilizer or green manure by piow-
ing it underi is understood and practiced
the more demand will there be for
cloverseed.
The second crop in the season OF the
common or medium red clover is the
one which furnishes the most seed If
the first crop is mown and carried from
the land in the shape of hay the second
or seed crop will not do its best The
question now comes up: How shall
we manage to raise the crop"
In the dairy counties of New York,
to-wit: Delaware, Herkimer, Oneida,
onondaga aud others, the clover land
is pastured very closely, so much so
that even the mich cows cannot do
their best; hence by the middle of June
the pasture or clover acres are almost
bare of all vegetation They are meas
urably clean of foul or weed seeds also.
They are enriched by the droppinCs of
the kline. and. by the wsy, these are
beaten fine right at this stage of the
season Clover runs its roots down
deep into the soil, and now even if the
season be somewhat dry the clover
plant starts to grow. Its abundant
foliage soon covers the entire surface
and thus binders evaporation. Season
able showers help to perfect the crop.
When all the heads are Drowned and
the seed is fully formed or perfected,
which can be ascertained by examina-
ton. the crop is mown- and after cur
ing little is raked into wind-rows and
left to dry out Generally it is taken
up out of those rows when the thrash
huller. comes to Mt the crop for market
a machine of this kind is quite expen-
sive, aud there are few farmers who
own one unless they also make the
season in going from one field to an
other to labor for pay.
In some sections where cloverseed Is
grown on almost every farm. sharp
ers" come around and contract for the
seed As rule, it is better for man
who has the seed to sell to enter into
correspondence with a reliable seed
store, or rather business firm, and as
certain current prices A good COM
mercial paper quotes prices, but these
are only approximately correct or to
be depended upon. Samples may he
sent. but these should fairly represent
the whole crop and not be extra
seeds Every farmer ought to estab-
lish character for fair dealing in all
his business transactions; to do so may
reduce prices at times, but in the long
run it pays big.
1t has been noticed that the clover
chaff, as I call it, is left to rot IN piles
and considered of little or no value
There is considerable nutTiment in this
chaff, even more than in wheat straw.
to stock cattle it would all be eaten
and thus save other or more valuable
feed 1t is good economy to let moth
ing 60 to waste--CharieS w. Murt-
feldt, in St Louis Republic.