The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1914-05-01
Crimson Glover d Useful Crop.

A number of ways in which the early
appearance of crimson clover in the
spring can be turned to the farmers
advantage are pointed out in new
publication of the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture, Farmers Bulle-
tin $40, Crimson Clover Utilization.
Crimson clover, says the bulletin,
has two great advantages. 1t is an
excellent fertilizer and it can be used
for pasture and before any other green
growth is available, the land being then
sown with an ordinary summer-growth
crop. The clover itself can be sown
toward the end of the summer on
land where such late crops as corn or
tomatoes are still under cultivation.
Its use, therefor, does not interfere
with other products and its benefits
cost little but labor and seed involved.
To obtain the full value of crimson
clover as a fertilizer, the entire green
crop should be plowed under, thus adj
ding to the soil a large quantity of
nitrogen and humus, or decayed vege-
table matter. The poorer the land the
greater is the benefit that the succeed
ing crop derives from this process
A yield of 80 bushels of corn per acre
may ordinarily be increased by crimson
clover to As, but on richer land an in
crease of more than 10 bushels is I'm
common. A convenient method of
calculation is to consider a full crop of
crimson clover, weighing with roots
and tops, about 10 tons an acre, as the
equivalent of distribution of tons of
fresh barnyard manure to an acre.
In this way the soil is greatly enriched
each year without interfering in any
way with the regular money crops, such
as corn. cotton, or tomatoes.
1t is, however, by no means neces-
sary to sacrifice the entire crop of
crimson clover of fetilizing purpose.
Excellent results can be obtained by
ploughing under merely the roots and
stubble. This it is estimated returns
to the soil 40 per cent as much nitro
gen as the green crop. When this is
done the clover itself can be used eth
er for pasture, before ordinary grass
is sufficiently far advanced to be avail
able, or for hay which can be gathered
in time to leave the land FIRE fer anoth-
er crop.
Crimson clover intended for hay must,
however, be cut at the right moment,
when the most advanced heads are be- |
ginning to show faded flowers at their
base. At this stage the plants contain |
the maximum amount of protein and dry |
matter, while the leaves are still pre-
sent and the stems comparatively green. |
If the harvest is put off, the short hairs |
on the stems and flowers heads become |
dry and stiff. In this stage there is |
danger that they may form hard hair |
balls in the intestinal tracts of horses |
and mules to which the hay is fed. |
These hair balls, solid, compact felt
like structures, nearly always |
cause death. Early cutting, however,
and judicious mixing with other hay |
will obviate this difficulty to great |
extent, and, under any circumstances.
cattle are rarely affected. By dairy |
men, crimson clover hay is considered |
roughage feed fully equal if not
superior to either red or alsike clover. |
For early pasturing crimson clover is |
even more satisfactory, its chief draw
back being the limited period in which |
it can be utilized for this purpose.
This period, however, is ample to en-
able the ordinary grass pastures to at
tain growth which will greatly in
crease their carrying capacity later in |
the season. After the cattle are re-
moved, the uneaten plants and the |
manure left behind are ploughed under,
the manure of course, forming valu
able addition to the fertilizing effect of |
the clover.
Methods of growing the crop, the pre-
paration of the seed bed, and the soils |
and sections best adapted to the pur-
pose are discussed in previous publica-
ton of the Department of Agriculture,
Farmers Bulletin $50, Crimson Clover;
Growing the Crop" Both this bulle
tin and the new bulletin Crimson Glow
err" will be sent free on request.