Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1903-02-17
The Value of Glover.

The time is coming on every farm, no
matter how productive it may be now,
when it will be absolutely necessary TO
raise the leguminOus plants as crops.
But it is by no means best to wait till
necessity forces one to do this. Better
10 keep the soil up, when it can be done
with a profitable crop, than to have to
put back the lost fertility. This being
tue, the following article by Jno. NJ.
Jamison in the Ohio Farmer will be very
timely. He said:
Farmers as a rule do not fully appre-
ciate the value of this crop, or else great
er care would be taken TO grow it, and
when once grown, utilize the whole
crops excepting the seed on the farm.
The price of seed now, March l, in the
local market is $500 per bushel. This
price will deter many from sowing, and
fields that should be sown to clover will
be put in corn with the expectation that
corn will be high in price next fall. The
area put out, and the yield, may upset all
calculations in that direction. But
clover crop is always valuable to the
farm and farmer; large and abundant
crops cannot destroy its value as sur
plus destroys the value of a grain crop.
The farmer that makes it point to grow
all the clover he can, regardless OF the
cost of seed and the price of grain that
may tempt drop out of the crop, is al
ways considered a good farmer, and
successful one. If clover is successfully
aud continuously grown on Alarm, II is a
safe assertion that the grain crops will
be good. Very often a clover crop will
return to the farmer more than he can
get or hope to get out of grain crop.
| The man that had good corn crop last
year, how much better off is he than the
man with good clover crop, consider
| ing the labor connected with the two
crops and results obtained? The corn
crop is soil robber, while the clover
crop is an improver of the soil. Clover,
where there was any the past harvest,
gave good crop of hay, and when the
| first crop was taken off in time, good
| crop of seed was secured, yet this fact is
not comprehended by the great mass OF
farmers. Every farmer realizes the facts
regarding the corn crop, because every
one grew corn or must buy, but the clo-
yer crop does not come home to every
one that way because they do not grow
and utilize the crop. The hay crop is
especially valuable as feed for young and
growing stock on the farm. 1t is relish
ed much more than timothy, and the
| animals that have it regularly, as liber,
| al part of their ration, will make good
growth during winter, while if limited to
fodder and timothy hay, theywill scarce
" hold their own. / would not try to
care for sheep during winter without
clover hay, unless could purchase bran
TO use as part ration. Colts fed clover
hay, with fodder, will come to grass in
the spring in excellent shape. When
this hay is of good quality and properly
fed to the stock on the farm, the results
do not disappOint the feeder. NO doubt
there will be much planning on the part
of some farmers to escape the purchase
of clover seed this spring. Other crops
will be substituted in hopes that by
another year the seed cost will be less
The temptation is strong to do this way
when it costs from 81 to $3.50 to seed al
acre. But when this outlay is consider
ed, it is well to remember and put
proper estimate on the value of crop Il
secured. Mirror and Farmer.