The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-06-05

successful. Others still follow the old
 practice of sowing on grain in the spring 1 This plan often proves a failure, and es- | pecially when the seed Is sowh in tho
 spring with oats. One of the surest
 plans, however, for getting a good catch,
 as the farmers call 1t, of clover, Is to
 thoroughly prepare the seed bed as out lined a few weeks ago, and in sections far
 enough south to be safe from winte- freezing out, SOW in the fall In the
 northern states sow the land to winter
 rye or winter barley. using only half as
 much seed. as If crop of grain was the
 object.
 In Early Spring.
 In the early spring as soon as the frost
 is out and the soil dry enough to get on,
 SOW the clover seed and harrow in. Ere quently 1t will be best to harrow the
 ground then SOW the seed and harrow
 in, keeping all the work right up to- l gether, sowing all the seed before the
 soil becomes dry and harrow 1t In at
 once. It Is best to harrow the seed m
 by running the harrow in the opposite di- 1 rection from which the first narrowing
 was done, or what we call narrowing at
 right angles. It is always best to have
 nurse crop for clovers, but this should never be oats, as oats will starVe out
 the clover besides if under favorable con- ditions the clover manages to survive un-
 til oath harvest, when the oats are taken | off and a dry season follows, the clover
 Is almost sure to be burned out, or the 1 stand so reduced as to render 1t worth- | less. The better nurse crops are rye and
 barely, sown thin, about half stand, or ] not to succeed one-half bushels of rye 1 or three pecks of clean winter barley per
 acre. The barley and the rye should be pastured off when the soil Is dry, with
 light stock, or clipped off with the mower,
 so as to prevent seeding. As to the quan- 1 tity of seed where this clover is sown l alone, use not less than twelve pounds of
 clean seed per acre. Where sown with
 timothy use about half of this quan- 1 tity. This is for soils that have been
 made fine For coarse, cloddy soils, use 1 more seed Sometimes lands are run to
 clover until they become what is known l as "clover sick" To correct this, rotate with corn, wheat and cowpeas using lime 1 on the soil, after whichthe land may
 again be set to clover Red clover seed weighs sixty pounds to the bushel, and 1 If the seed is well kept 1t Is good for 1 years.
 Mammoth or Sapling Clover. l The common red mammoth clover Is
 similar in every respect to the common | red clover mentioned above, only 1t Is | much larger, makes stronger growth and is better adapted for thin soils. This l clover can also be grown with success In sections where the other would fail. It l can be grown farther south than the
 small red. Where clover is to be grown for enriching soils this would be the best sort. It will also furnish more grazing, make more hay, but the hay Is coarser, of a more woody fiber than hay from the common red clover. The same directions
 as given for the growing of one will an- swer equally well for both. Mammoth
 clover seed weighs sixty pounds per hal nd ha AIsike or Swedish Clover. This species of clover resembles both 1 red and the white. being as 1t were a medium between the two, and having pinkish blossoms that resemble both the white and the red. This is variety of clover that is very hardy as 1t with stands almost any amount of freezing | and grows farther north than anyy other
 variety of clover. It will also survive l overhows, in fact 1t will grow under
 water almost like mint. St is fine for
 bo.n pasture and hay. It's best use, how e--cr, Is to grow in a mixture Of grasses for both hay and pasture. It produces the finest quality of hay.
 In many sections Alsike clover and rep top grass are grown together and this | is as much a standard for hay as the re clover and timothy
 Aiske clover is well adapted for wet, | narshy soils where no other variety of | clover would grow. There are many sec l tions of our country where the value of
 this fine clover Is just beginning to be
 recognized One of the most successful l growers of clover in this country after l having grown alsike clover for some l years has this to say for 1t:
 "Alsike clover Is a hybrid variety in- l troduced from New Stockholm, Sweden. | This is very hardy perennial variety, ;, valuable for pasturage and soiling, and 1 being very productive and fioiferous, bees | often obtain a large amount of honey
 from it's fragrant flowers. It is valuable l for sowing with other grasses and clovers 1 as it makes a thick bottom and in- 1 creases the yield of hay"
 t Is well suited to lands liable to
 wash, Its long roots binding the soil well. l For some years after the introduction
 of this clover into this country. the gen.
 eral idea was that it was only suited for 1 our wet lands in the northern states. l This was incorrect as we now find 1t on many of our hilly lands, and 1t has grad
 ually worked its way south until it is now being grown In number of our southern states While visiting the farm
 of one of the most successful clover
 growers of southwest Missouri, found this the leading clover on the farm, and the owner of the farm, which Is an up- lanA farm said that 1t had proved so
 much harder, and so much more pro-
 
 anc pasture was so sunperior to red
 clover, that he was now using 1t instead
 of the red clover.
 Recently while holding a farmers in-
 stlt te meeting in Randolph county. Ark ansas I met farmer who is making a
 great success of alsike clover in that section There is no question but that the-e are many ,tions and many soils in the south to which this clover would prove grand acquisition The same
 directions for growing given for red clover will answer for this also. The so,. weighs 60 pounds per bushel. Where sown alone use not less than eight pounds
 per acre; if sown with other clovers or
 grssses six pounds per acre will answer
 Crimson Glover.
 This is an annual clover of comparative ly recent introduction into the United States. where it's growth has been con 1 fined largely to the southern Atlantic states, reaching as far north as the New England states; New Jersey, Delaware
 and Maryland being the states where 1t Is
 more extensively grown, than in any otn- l CT of our states. Delaware Is the state I that has become known as the state pro-
 ducing the largest quantity of this clover | seed. It Is slowly gaining recognition in many of our southern states, however. in many sections 1t is still In an experiment