The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1893-01-31
AND VALUE CF
CLOVER.

At the Spring Valley Farmers Insti-
tute, n. Y, an address on clover Svas
given b. G. d. Brill, which saws: The
clover plant is "a biennial or seldom
lives over two years One pound Of
seed if pure ana clear from trash, has
256 600 seeds or about 500,0O0 TO the
quart If ninety per cent. of these
grow after sowing an acre it will give
twelve plants to the foot, which would
be = fair stand We often SOW over
eight quarts, out we do not get a better
caLcn Of set d many times, for tyO raa-
sOUe: First, the seed may be po0r and
full IF trash. It this trash b6 weed
seed Ne not only Ose the money IL costs
but intro &uce weeds into cur land that
may COSJ many dollars TO eradicate.
Second, poor preparation Of soil If
land IS ClOddy ana rough, mary of The
small seeds will not grow. Then pre-,
care the ground thoroughly and get
only the best cleaned see d. The clover
plant has two vaiu, s--fOr animal food
and % enrich the soil. There is no bet
ter food for no&s than clover pasture
An Ohio farmer by cutting the young
char aud f1eGlI1Ig It found, ia IL *.
periIaenG with thirty mugs, -rI1rs, --liG
could Tu8ke one pound of grain for
every fifteen pounds Of green clover
consumed, ard an acre should grow at
least SIX tons Of green clover. This
shows 1t to oe q cheap hog food. Sheep
ike it very much, as also do cattle and
horses, but the clover is injured by
close pa8GurIng.
There are many ways Of curing it.
Each grower generally thinks his own
the best. II you have deep, tight
mOws, you may cut 1t after the dew
has dried eff; after dinner turn it over
or run a tedder through it; rake it up
and draw it and put it III the deep bays
or cock it up well and let it stand over
night; open the next forenoon, and
draw it III barn or Sta OK after dinner.
1t should be cut before all the heads
are in full blossom, or some will have
passed their prime and become woody.
This hay when properly cured has
feeding value nearly approaching bran
and much greater than that Of any
other forage plants especially In al
buminOid or flesh forming elements.
The only trouble IN feeding horses is
that the hay is nOG properly cured and
Is dusty, Or else they are fed too much.
T. B Terry, of Ohio, feeds his working
horses clover hay without grain and
they look well, and his driving horse
has clover hay and middlings. AS a
fertilizer it has also great value In re-
storing fertility to soils exhausted by
other cTops. By careful analyses of
the tops Of second growth clover and
the roots IN the first nine inches of soil
they have been found to contain an
amount Of nitrogen, phOsphoric acid
and potash, which if bought in com
mercIal fertilizers would cost from $50
to $50 per acre. Clover can get this,
first be cause the roots on light soils are
very deep, often six feet, but the main
part of the root Is near the surface
where this plant food is stored. Second,
it has an immense leaf surface, and so
can handle an enormous quantity of
water, and as all plants take their food
through the roots in solution clover can
get j. from a more dilute solution.
Third, it shades the ground and makes
the condition favorable for nitrlficatlOn
or making organic nitrogen available
for other plants. Fourth, more impor-
tant than these, 1T has the power OF
taking free nitrogen from the air. On
the roots are little knots. and inside OF
these are bacteria, which have the
power Of changing the free nitrogen OF
the air and combining it so that the
clover plant feeds upon 1t. Now by
blowing the clover under, large
amount of plant food is stored In the
soil IN a form readily assimllabIe by
other plants, enough for two or three
crops Of wheat of thirty bushels per
acre, or potatoes.