The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1899-09-14
CLOVER FAILURE.
Some Of It's Causes as Seen by an
Iowa Farmer.

as q RUE, uOt ufOfc tuou OuS CiOSSi
field out Of every three or four Is a
good stand even in favorable season,
and usually 1t is the fault Of the way
the field Is managed either at sowing
time or after the nurse crop has been
taken of, says correspondent Of The
Prairie Farmer. Most farmers do not
cover the seed deep enough. One Of
my neighbors has been trying to seed
q certain piece Of ground for four
years and has always failed. He in
variably sows his nurse crop casually
oats), then waits three or four weeks
and then sows his clover seed on the
hard ground without any covering
The result Is the seed does not come
up, or II 1t does come up and live until
harvest it Is sure to die when the
grain is removed and the young plants
are exposed to the hot sun. The root
Is not deen. enough to stand the dry
weather that is almost sure to occur
about harvest time and directly after
harvest
Fall wheat or rye Is the best nurse
crop have ever tried, preferably
rye but In many parts Of the country
oats Is the principal small grain crop
and must be depended upon for a
nurse crop. In seeding clover with
oats cultivate my oats in and harrow
once to smooth the surface Of the
ground somewhat In order that none
Of the seed win get covered too deep.
Then SOW my clover seed at the rate
Of ten pounds of clover and five
pounds Of timothy seed per acre.
harrow enough after sowing the seed
to thoroughly pulverize all clods and
smooth the surface. Do not be afraid
Of losing the seed by covering it up;
It viii come out all right -r
II you use Gail wheat or rye. sow your
grass seed as early In the spring as you
can harrow the field and harrow until
the seed Is we'll covered: Il ought to be
covered not less than one inch deep,
and two is better II the hand Il at all
light. I sowed q field Of rye to clover
In the spring Of 1907. The ground was
quite hard. SO narrowed It two or
three times before sowing the seed In
order to get a. good seed bed, then I
sowed the clover seed and narrowed
as many times more. Ny netghboT told
me I had ruined my rye, bat thought
not and at any rate cared more for
good stand OF clover than for Q few
bushels Of rye. The result was had
q fair crop Of rye and q splendid stand
Of clover. The rye being somewhat thin
gave the clover chance 10 do It's best.
Many times he, nurse crop isriekt
sstanding until itsis too f1peA Lei he
nurse crop be what It may, II should be
cut a. soon q posAhas. for exefy Day
4 stands axtse 4 could be cut lessons
ne chance to save the young clover
plants, for II rapidly absorbs what lit
IL moisture there h IN the ground and
thereby robs the clover.
II tho condittons are favorable otter
harvest aud nothlng b done to prevent,
Tie clover win hee1 Out. sIt 20 not ID
visabie to let 4 head, for Il issths, M
ture Of clover 61tsf maturine . crop 0f
seed to die. re he dead II % situated
that you can pasture the clover Oh, It
WIN be an right, but Il not convenient
TO pasture run the mower over It set
high enough to clip the heads nicely
sndslet them he on the ground. In cut
ting the nurse crop cut the stubble as
high as you can, as the stubble win help
to catch the Snow ana protect the
young clover. Do not pasture OF too
short.
Flow Now For Next Years. wAeaa.
Through the Kansas Farmer, Pro
fessor George l. Clothier advises the
wheat growers Of that state to begin;
the preparation Of the soil for next
years crop at once. There is no accur-
ate way to calculate the losses that all
Of our farmers annually sustain from
insufficient and untimely preparation
Of the soil, but there is no doubt that
these losses amount to millions Of dol
lars every year.
No plant can grow and thrive in a
seed bed consisting chiefly Of dry clods
and air spaces. The plow very seldom
leaves the soil in proper condition for
a seed bed. In order to bring it to the
desired condition, the soil must be pull
verified, fined, settled and supplied
with a quantity Of moisture sufficient
to promote vigorous plant growth. This
condition cannot be secured at this
time Of the year by preparation that
lasts only a few days.
Therefore, it behooves the farmers to
get the prospective wheatfelds plowed
and narrowed as soon as possible in Or
der that the preparation Of the soil
may be continued long enough to put
it in the finest possible condition. II
the land is plowed now, any rains that
fall between now and the LIST Of Sep
TENDER will be largely stored in the soil
and fine seed bed will be the result.
The weathering Of the soil will also
benefit it by setting free large quaint
ties Of plant food for the use Of the
terminating and growing wheat plants
In the fall months.
Early blowing for wheat makes the
crop doubly sure and alsosgives the
farmer the satisfaction that he is push
ing his work instead Of the work push
ing him. Farmer, plow early!
How to Pasture Sorghum.
Professor T. L. Lyon Of the Nebras.