Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1914-06-09
CLOVERS REST
 OF FERTILIZER By JOHN H., PAGE, Commissioner of Agriculture.

We need more clovers grown on the farms in the South. The clovers are legumes and have the little bacteria at the roots for gathering the nitro gen from the air, and thus enriching the soil. Nitrogen is the costliest in- gredient in fertilizers. If we grow clovers we are making portion of fertilizer while we are making hay and pasture. If we turn under a green crop of clover in the fall we are en- riching the soil much more. The tops as we'll sroots contain nitrogen. A clover crop weighing 2h tons to the acre, when plowed under is worth as much as ten tons of stable manure to the acre, according to pr. Cyril G. Hopkins, and he is one of the leading soil experts of this country There are different kinds of clover, and they all have their advocates and good points.
 The common red clover is good for pasture and hay. Most everybody knows about it, but it isn't grown enough.
 Japan clo,er or Lespedeza, grows wild on the old fields in most parts of the South. It makes a good pasture and a good hay crop when grown on good land Stock are very fond of the hay. It is small, and does not grow high, and matures for cutting in Sep tember. On good land it will make more than a ton to the acre. If cut late it will reseed itself.
 Alsyke clover is good for wet land. It makes a good pasture and hay crop. If your land is not well-drain- ed alsyke is the clover to grow.
 Crimson clover is fine and makes an early spring pasture. It is one of the best clovers for the soil. It takes well-drained land, and will not grow | where the soil is sour and needs lime stone. I would advise trying it only in small way at first. Then be guided by your experience.
 Bur clover is fine for a winter and cover crop. cover crop you know is any crop that stays green and covers the ground in the winter, and keeps the land from washing or the plant food from soaking out with winter rains. Bur clover can be
 
 pasture during the winter. It seeds and dies in May or June, and will come again in the fall. It is a good crop to plant between the corn or cot ton rows in the fall. If it is allowed to go to seed in the spring a crop of something else can be grown during the summer and it will come up again in the fall It is a good pasture in combination with bermuda. As the bur clover dies down in the spring the bermuda come son, and the two make combination summer and winter pasture without rseeding. They are both soil builders.
 Sweet clover is another that has re- ceived lots of attention from agricul- turists and agricultural papers. For many years it was not regarded as valuable, and in some places it was regarde das a pest. It has come to stay, however, and has many advan- tages. It is one of the richest soil builders and yields we'll for pasture or for hay. It is said that stock do not like it at first, but if starved to eat it will then grow very fond of it. It will grow on heavy, hard and poor soils; in fact on most any soil to some extent 1t will inoculate field for alfalfa, and should be tried out as a fore-runner to alfalfa. The roots are soft and when dead decay rapidly and help the soil in that way. In fact it is one of the best crop known for en- riching the soil It can be pastured in the spring and summer and plowed under in the fall. When cut for hay the cutting should be done when it is about 20 inches high, and not too tough. It is very rich in protein and fine for feed, and especially good for milk COWS. It will grow on wet land ar dry. It will stand heavy rainfalls or drouth. In planting, the ground should be rather firm and not loose.
 Remember that all clovers are good for your land. Growing clover is like having savings account in the bank. It keeps adding something. Try some of them. If you can you might try them all. The experiment is, worth while.