The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1909-03-26
Clover, Wheat and Sheep Should
Be Raised in North Dakota

Datus G. Smith BLANCHARD, Trail
I advocate earnestly the growing Of
clover. particularly in North Dakota.
I was backing my advice with exam
pie, having in 1903 4s0 acres Of land
laid down in grass with more or less
clover in all Of it, and some Of it clear
clover. Since then have seeded
down each year, mostly with clear
clover, 100 to 800 acres with wheat
and blowing up a like amount of
clover land, and I have seed ready
for like seeding next spring.
But what do I really think Of clover
for q permanent place in our present
day North Dakota farming? II per-
sistently seeding it for ten years is
not enough. the next best answer I
can make is that have changed the
name Of my farm to Cloverlea! And
what can we do with the clover?
That question ought not to be embar-
RAISING to any North Dakota farmer,
especially this year, but I will tell
what we are doing with 1t. I am, as
I have been for several years. bring
ing my farm more and more to the
plan of wheat, clover and sheep.
Wheat must be the basis for many
years, the clover is valuable for hay
and renewing the soil, but for real
maintenance of the soil, we must
keep live stock, and to my mind.
sheep are the most suitable kind Of
live stock to spread widely over the
land. The sheep has indeed golden
hoof. but the gold will not be found
in the land by any careless man.
Some looking ahead must be done,
some planning Of pastures, fencing
and winter shelter must be made If
you are going to keep sheep. In pass
ing I should, perhaps, say that have
not found all Of the gold in my land
where the sleeps hoof had trod that
I should have found had I been a
wiser man. This means that even
with good crops of clover we have
much yet to learn in the handling of
clover land.
I am speaking of North Dakota
farming as I see it. First, clover
land must be brought constantly into
rotation; that is, blowing down as
much as is need in clover (after get
ting started) and doing it every year.
This have done with approximately
regularity. Second, clover land must,
I think, be plowed at other times than
in the spring. 1t has been tempta-
ton to plow the following spring,
such clover land as we have taken
Tor tried to take) a crop of seed from
in the fall, it generally being too late
to pillow such land in the fall. The
clover after seed taking all dies, save
the abundant new crop springing up
from the scattered seed and the land
would seem to be in almost ideal con-
dition for spring blowing. But l think
now, that such treatment is mis-
take, perhaps due to the excessive
amount of dead but unrooted clover
roots making the soil dry out unduly.
We have thought to thus save a
year on clover land, but plan now to
pillow down most of the clover land
in the summer, with perhaps some
after seed taking in the fall. We have
been sowing Of late years mostly clear
clover always with wheat) encourag-
ed thereto by its almost unfailling
abundance Of crop and the hope of
seed. say the hope of seed because
it has been variable, from two and one
eighth bushels down to one-fifth BUSH
Ell per acre.
AS to the growth of the clover I
may say that our experience has been
this for ten years: The clover sown
in 1898 was all killed apparently by
the drouth of 1899, but we had the
timothy left, even then. The bare win
ter of last year with its ice covered
fields largely killed out the clover on
one field Of sander land and left the
remainder, three-quarters of the crop,
That is, in ten years we
have had one complete and one par
tial failure Of clover, otherwise we
have had unfailingly abundant crops
of clover. How does this compare
with other North Dakota crops?
now plan to SOW generally mixture
Of clover and timothy. The crop will
be mostly clover the first year after
seeding and mostly timothy sod the
following year, when it will be plowed
down in summer. This clover and
timothy vary in character. It will
preferably be pasture land which has
been evenly and persistently cropped
mot over cropped) by stock, mostly
sheep; part of it will be meadow
and from which the hay has been
aiken for one or two years, and hope
10 one will faint at the thought, some
II it is pretty sure to be just good,
luscious crop of clover plowed. Third,
or best results the land should be
,astured.
Everybody knows that pasture land
a.