The Princeton union., 1909-04-01

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Make . three or four year rotation
Of clover, according to the compost
tion Of the soil. The potash and phos-
Iphoric acid in the soil is not original-
" in the right form for plant food, but
clover converts it into this form.
Clover also furnishes shade for the
land and this increases it's fertility.
Vegetable matter is needed in sandy
soil more than anything else. Glover
supplies this. It converts the soil
into a sort of sponge. Put in plenty
of vegetable matter and in dry sea-
sons you will have no difficulty in pro
ducing crop.
Mr.. Brown here relieved Mr.. Henry.
When the clover crop is harvested,
said he, that finishes the plant. 1t
should then be plowed under and the
roots permitted to rot so as to furnish
nitrogen for the succeeding crops.
Neither potatoes or corn put any nj
trogen back into the soil. It makes
no difference whether you cultivate 40
or 1000 acres of land, plant one-third
of that acreage to clover. 'Tis prof
liable crop, with its hay and seed,
and then it fertilizes the soil for crops
of other variety. Sow 4 parts of clov-
er to 2 of timothy. Always disk the
sod before plowing under. This con-
cluded the morning session.
Mr. Henry opened the afternoon ses-
sion by anwering number of ques-
tions as follows:
Second crop clover seed is better
than the first.
Alsike clover can be grown on land
bearing wire grass provided such land
is not too wet. Ride horse over
ground early in spring to cut off grass
with its hoofs and then SOW seed.
Sow clover in spring and rye in
fall.
Glover sowed on mounds will pre-
vent blowing of sand.
The so.called nitrocultures adver-
tised are humbug. Put on top dress
ing and there will be no need for
them.
Don't bother your heads about al
falfa. It does not mean one-tenth of
the profit that clover does. Alfalfa
makes permanent meadow, but you
do not want a permanent meadow
you want rotation of crops.
Cure clover hay by letting it get
nicely wilted, then turn it few times
and in 48 hours from time of cutting
haul to barn. Cut when nicely in
blossom before heads commence to
burn off. Feed clover hay to your work
horses, but not to the drivers. It will
save you at least one-third in the cost
of their feed. Corn is just as good as
oats when feeding combination with
clover, but be sure that the clover is
we'll cured and do not overfeed. It is
an erroneous idea that clover hay
gives horses the heaves. Half of the
clover seed is spoiled by permitting
the crop to lie on the ground after
cutting. Put rails under and cover
up or the seed will sprout before it is
threshed. Considerable seed is ruin
ed by not properly caring for it..
Buy the best seed you can obtain.
See that it is bright and clean. There
is no necessity of sending away for
your seed. Procure it from your
neighbors, for the nearer it is raised
to home the better it is adapted to the
soil.
Mr.. Brown then took up the subject
of potato growing. he recommended
fall plowing for potatoes, saying it
had several advantages over spring
plowing, one of which was the eradi-
cation of weeds, a very important
item. It makes more work than
spring blowing but it pays better.
It is no use taking up time telling
the farmers what varieties of potatoes
to plant for experience has demon
strated that point to them. Plant
your late potatoes early, for then you
will not only get better crops in conse-
quence of the seed having more mois-
ture than when planted later, but your
potatoes will be put on the market
when they command better prices.
The first crop in the spring is always
of the best quality.
In answer to question he said that
black rot was more liable to affect po-
tatoes which were planted late.
Plant your potatoes with drills in
checks four or five inches deep. Cul.
tivate and go deep. Drag three times
and cultivate as long as you can get