The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1913-05-02
SEEDING GRASS IAN1s|
TOO ruch importance cannot }.
Given to Pure Seed.
Valuable Characteristic Of A,.,
Clover 10 That It Will STAY i,
Soil Several Years and win
Re-Seed Itself.
By r. g. WEATHERsToNr,

By r. g. WEATHERsToNE,
FOO much Importance cannot !,
given to the selection of pure s,,.s
seed, for there is no greater failurs :
disappointment in farm managemss.
than to fail to secure a good stand !.
grass or clover.
Every year / am becoming mn.
and more favorably impressed will
the value of alsike clover, although Va
have used it for number of years !,
all of our grass and seed mixtures
We have repeatedly failed to Seem.
a favorable stand of common ,ss
clover, and to our surprise the alsil
would come along and make a pond
stand and we would be enabled h
harvest a very profitable grass cro,
Many times red clover will not thriM
for the reason that the soil has ba
come somewhat acid, but the alsk,
will make very good crop notwith
standing the acid condition of the soil
Another valuable characteristic o,
alsike clover is the fact that it will
stay in the soil several years, and Il
permitted it will reseed itself. Alsike
clover grows but little after moving.
and no second crop can be expected
from it. Both in this respect, as well
as the longer time it requires to ma
ture its maximum crop, alsike clover
stands after red clover.
It's great and undeniable advantage
on the other hand, lies in the fact
that it is more hardy than the com
mon red clover and can be success.
fully cultivated on moist soils and
land that is flooded at certain times
during the year, on which red clover
will not grow.
If alsike clover seed is mixed with
pasture grass mixtures, it yields rich
and certain grazing crops, and when
cultivated on arabic land red clover
seed should be sowed with the mix
ture with which the field is seeded.
In this way a great advantage is
gained in the fact that the first year
after sowing the fodder may be har
vested chiefly consisting of the red
clover and in the following years aftel
the red clover begins to deterioratG
the alsike comes in, in its place, and
yields rich and certain crops, togethel
with the timothy and other grass
seeds with which the meadow il
seeded.
While alsike does not yield as larg'
crops to the acre as common rel
clover Of equal stand, yet it is Yer!
profitable, and in actual feeding valu
/ have found but little difference ton
for ton when it was being fed to
herd of dairy cows, and for feeding
horses and all kinds of young stock
have found it greatly superior. The
time Of cutting and curing will make
more real difference than the variety
Alsike clover is not considered B!
soil experts to be as good soil i'm
proving crop as common red Glove
for the reason that it lacks The
branching root system of the red
clover, but it is legume (nitrogen
gatherer) and hence will build up
the soil and thrive on many soils
where the red variety cannot be USED
as a nitrogen gatherer.
It is my honest opinion that there
are many farmers who have given up
growing clover who could make
success of growing alsike clover ID
stead of experimenting with rev
clover. II
/ have found in actual practice tna'
1t is q better business proposition % o
SOW q mixture Of grass seed that Will
make a certain stand under the usua
conditions than to spend larss
amounts of hard-earned money to ef
pertinent with crop so uncertain ~
red clover, on any field where 1t y
not practically sure to make go0'
stand.