Morgan County republican. (Versailles, Mo.) 1906-1914, 1908-05-14
The Failure OF Clover Stands.


A great deal Of complaint has been
made in recent years regarding the fail.
ure OF clover TO catch on many Of the
soils Of Missouri. Either the crop freez-
Is out during the first winter or II burns
out during the first summer and that re.
suit 10 a scattering stand or ZONE times
an entire failure. In many cases this
has become so common that the growing
of clover has come to be looked upon
with disfavor by many farmers much to
the detriment Of the land.
There are several causes that may con-
tribute 10 Clover failure. In the first
place, the constant cropping Of land to
cultivated crops rapidly reduces the
vegetable matter and humus supply OF
the soil so that il becomes compact and
tends to run together. This itself is m
Of the causes Of winter killing as we'll as
the burning oui OF acrop during the urn
mer. A sol! we'll supplied with huinus
rarely allows the clover to be killed out
by heaving unless the soil is wet. A
good supply Of humus tends to maintain
a frialablc and looscned condition during
the ummer which prevents the rapid
drying of the soil and consequent burn.
ing out of the plants. Sometimes the
dihiculty il merely that the soil is too
poorly drained but this apples only to a
few soils in Missouri. A very coinnion
cause is the fact that many soils Of the
state, especially those that are becoming
low in the vegetable matter, lack avail
able phopshates. The benefit Of applying
phosphate to such soils have been shown
t. be very striking in Its effects upon
clover. There are other causes OF failure
such as fungus diseases aud soil acidity
but these apply to eastern states more
particularly than to Missouri.
Experiments made by the Missouri
Experiment Station ON the soil expert
mental fields in various parts of Missouri
have shown some very striking results
with clover. At Unionville on the north
east Missouri level prairie the yield Of
clover has been doubled by systametic
soil treatment, while the same has been
done on the border of the Ozarks in
Christian county and also at Victoria in
Jefferson county. On all three Of these
soil types the treatment that have given
the most striking results has been the
use OF phospha,es, especially in connec-
ton with the growing OF cowpeas in
order TO build up the vegetable matter
aud nitrogen supply OF the soil. II has
been shown quite conclusivelv IN some
cases, that the use Of bone meal in ONE
form applied at the rate OF l5U!bs per
acre is practically all that is necessary to
bring All abundant fruit crop. The bone
is the best applied with wheat where this
is used AZ a nurse crop for clover. The
benefit Of bone to wheat is very striking,
but It's effect on the clover crop following
is even more marked. Where land is
built up in hunnus and nitrogen by grow.
ing a crop or two Of cowpeas to be pas
tured on before the wheat, good returns
! will be secured. Potash also sometimes
benefits the clover and aids i'll securing
a profitable stand, but the greatest re-
turn for the investment seems to come
unusually from the use Of bone meal
sOwn with the wheat when preceded by
cowpeas,
Naturally there is nothing better to
bring a clover catch than ordinary barn
ward manure since it adds both nitrogen
and %phosphorus as well AS humus and
where a man saves manure carefully and
~scatters it on evenly before corn at the
rate OF six to eight loads per acre, then
seeds hi, clover with wheat to which
has been added $50 lbs. of bone meal per
acre a clover crop is usually assured
Tue neglect Of manuring, however, and
the persistent cropping of land to corn is
sure to make clover growing on many OF
the soils Of Missouri more difficu't.
Clover is far too valuable a crop both rs
a feed and as a soil %renovator tor tho
farmer to neglect. and the wise man:"il
seek trough a crop rotation and a sysla'
metic use Of barn yard manure ami phos
pilates, to make clover growing success
full. NJ i MILLER
Mo, Agricultural Experiment Station,
Columbia, Mo