Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1903-12-10
A one-Year cIover crop.

- One-Tear CloVof CTops
In report of the North Dakota
farmers Institutes D. c. Smith, a
farmer Of that state, is quoted as fol
lows:
What is our present experience with
clover in the Red river valley? Does
it not amount to about this? We have
found that, If properly seeded, we can
generally get catch and we can as a
rule carry 1t safely through the first
winter under the snow that fills the
Aigh stubble over it. We are delight
ed and say, I'VE can raise clover"
The following winter the clover, nc
longer having the stubble to catch the
snow and protect it, dies and we then
sit down in woe and say, 1--WE can not
raise clover" Now wish to offer a
suggestion. might call it new idea
but for its being so apparent that the
only novelty in it is the recognition OF
the conditions named coupled with
their frank acceptance in our farm
practice. Why should we not go earn
estly about raising clover for one
year crop, get the use of it that yeaI
for hay or pasture and then pillow II
iown either that fall or in the follow
ing spring? Why should we not raise
clover for a one-year crop as we do
corn, barley and millet? A one-year
crop of clover costs less and is far
better than any Of them, dollar for
dollar, for renewing the soil. What
change it would make in this valley II
one-tenth Of our lands were every year
in clover meadow or pasture and a
like amount plowed down every year!
BY blowing down a one-year clover
meadow or clover pasture we would
get large measure of the benefits de
rived from two-year crop Of clover,
We would thus get quicker rotation
which might fully compensate us for
losses in other directions. One-hali
less land would thus lie idle, II so re-
proachful a term as idle" may be ap
piled to land covered with clover. A
dollar an acre would nearly pay for
full seeding alone Of clover, but for
the present / think we should seed
the clover with timothy and that
would cost less.S Then, If the clover
fails, as 1t sometimes will, we have
the timothy left, 1t should not dis
courage us at all to recognize that
clover will sometimes fail. 1t some.
times fails in the best clover coun.
tries.
Whatever the theories may be as
to the draught Of timothy on the
soil, we are coming to recognize pref.
ty plainly that timothy sod in quick
rotation brings us back the nearest
to prairie sod Of anything we have,
and every man of us knows that
sod Of timothy and clover mixed
would be far better than timothy
alone. After a while we may conf
IDENTIFY expect to get down to clean
clover seeding without the timothy.
Either red clover or alsike would. /
think, answer for this one-year crop,
Either would, as rule, live through
the first winter and each has its ad-
vantages. l prefer alsike clover be-
cause it is a better sheep feed. be.
cause it ripens more evenly with timo-
thy and, above all, because 1t better
endures in the land. However, 1t
should be said that my experience has
been mostly with alsike. 1t is my
experience that where | have once
sown alsike clover, there l always
have sprinkling of it. The clover
bacteria is abundant with it, as 1t is
in the red clover at the experiment
station. For me, until gain more
wisdom, shall mix some alsike clio
yer with every quart of timothy seed
hereafter sown.