Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1904-09-20
To Raise a Good Crop of Glover.
WHY SPRING IS PREFERABLE TO FALL
sowING-CAREFUL PREPARATION OF
THE SOIL NECESSARY.

A good catch of clover is often secur-
ed without a nurse crop when sown in
the spring and the season is favorable,
which means plenty of moisture. Fall
sowing of clover is not considered good
policy in the Eastern states, where con-
ditions are more favorable than those
usually encountered in the fall of the
year in Nebraska; therefore, we could
not in the face of this recommend a
plan that, to say the least, would be
counting failure.
One reason for the unpopularity of
fall sowing is clover being plant that
requires great deal of moisture, espe-
cially in the first three months of its ex-
istence, which is demanding condition
that cannot be looked forward TO with
the same amount of assurance in the
fall that is held out to us in the spring.
Then, again, it is necessary for clover
to be well rooted to Withstand the sever
ity of winter and be in a healthy state
when spring opens, a condition that
would be the exception rather than the
rule with fall sowing.
If one is very desirous of trying fall
sowing of clover, under no circumstances
would we recommend plowing, providing
the ground has been put in proper
state of cultivation within year. lfit
be stubble or stalk ground, by all means
use disk and pulverize the surface
sufficiently to form fine mulch, which
will arrest evaporation. When this dirt
mulch is properly made it will hold the
moisture in the ground for a long time;
then by drilling the clover seed just be-
meath, which is always moist, caused by
what is known as capillary attraction,
and added to this the firm seed bed, an
essential to plant growth, perfect germi-
nation is assured.
If ground is prepared as above de-
scribed for clover, and sown this fall to
alfalfa, success, We feel sure, would
follow.
The subject, "Clcver Culture, one of
the most valuable studies in agriculture,
would occupy a great deal of space be-
fore it was exhausted. Therefore, the
few words we are about to give concern
ing seeding, seeing this topic is being
will be so little, comparatively,
as to be nothing more than enough to
start some thinking.
Many times the cause of failure in
starting clover in the lighter soils of the
Western states is the practice of surface
sowing on newly ploughed ground. In
case we may not be fully understood, a
description of this method of sowing
perhaps will not be out of place.
There are several plans for surface
sowing, two or three of which we will
cite. One plan, when crop of clover is
expected to be grown without nurse
crop, is to first plough and thoroughly
harrow the ground; then SOW the seed
and cover it by using either homemade
brush harrow or slant tooth harrow
with brush or plank attached to the
back. This smoothS the surface of the
ground and covers the seed at the same
time. When a spring sown nurse crop
is used, all the work needed for growing
this grain is finished before the clover
is sown, after which harrow as above.
Another method of surface sowing,
and very successful one, is to SOW
wheat or rye in the fall; then SOW the
clover very early the next spring, on the
seed then will settle int the soft mud,
CauSeu w lCtqucut iiOOh'uS euu sh""'Ae,
is properly covered and ready to germi-
nate at the earliest opportunity, or just
as soon as all the conditions necessary
to the life of the plant are present, which
allows the roots to get good start, and
frequently enables the clover in its early
stage to withstand short drouth. Sow
ing on late SHOWS has also proved very
successful in getting catch in wornout
pastures.
Surface growing on newly ploughed
ground is held in high favor, both with
and without nurse crop, in some of
our Eastern states, where the soil isa
heavy clay and they have an abundance
of moisture. But in the lighter soils of
the West. and especially in localities
where the rainfall some years is hardly
sufficient to raise full crop, surface
sowing on newly ploughed land at any
time of the year has been more or less
failure.
A good catch of clover may be obtain
ed for the hog pasture by adopting the
method we have described of sowing in
the spring on nurse crop of fall rye,
and allowing the hogs to pasture off the
rye.-Cor. in Tribune Farmer.