Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-03-11

Glover is the most important crop
on the farm for keeping up the land.
Old? Yes. But perhaps you re-
member that once when the Queen
Of France demanded something alb
solute1y new in a frock the dress
r!aker replied, "There is nothing
new-except what has been forgot
ten" Maybe the forage crops spe-
cialist of the United States depart
ment of agriculture had just that
thought in mind when he made the
statement just quoted. Farmers
have been drifting away from clover.
Apparently, some of them have for
gotten the old truth for keeping the
land productive, and the clover story
needs to be told again.
Crops demand a soil containing
four things-organic matter, nitro
gen, potash, phosphoric acid.
Of these four essential things,
clover supplies two, organic matter
and nitrogen. 1t can not add phos-
phorus or potash, but it can return
What it takes out. The most i'm
portant point is that clover in the
crop rotation will supply the nitro
gen or most of it. Numerous demon
STATIONS of that fact have been
r1ade by state experiment stations.
Land on which clover is grown in
rotation with other crops makes bet
ter yields than land On which no
clover is grown. The specialists be-
1ieve that unless there is a more gen.
era1 return to clover productivity
Will certainly decline.
BE sure Seed rs Right
Here are some of the things they
say about sowing clover this spring.
Glover seed is high-probably 60
cents pound at retail. Do not plant
1T unless you plant it right.
Have the seed tested. The stat
seed laboratory or the seed labora-
tory Of the United States department
of agriculture will do it. You can't
..fford to take chance by not test
ing it.
Glover seed is most commonly
sown on winter wheat in the early
spring. This is ordinarily good prac-
lice, but if the wheat field was left
rough in the fall the seed bed may
not be favorable and much seed
rnay be wasted. Glover needs seet
bed that is firm below but fine ant
loose on top. Use a drill when pos
sible. On loamy soil harrow the
seed in on the wheat, but do not at
tempt it when the land is wet.
If farmers would take as much
pains seeding clover as they do seed
ing alfalfa, there would be fewer clo-
yer failures.
AS a rule red clover will not do
well on land that is "sour" either
naturally or because it has been so
long cropped that the lime in the
soil has been used up. There are &C.
casional exceptions. Glover has been
known to do we'll on land that had a
lime requirement of 1,400 pounds an
acre, but this land had been heavily
MANFRED and fortified. Usually clio
yer wants soil that is neutral or near
ly so. 1t is a safe statement that in
most cases where clover goes out or
fails to make q fair crop two tons of
ground limestone an acre would help
a great deal. In many cases lime
may have to be supplemented with
phosphoric acid or potash. The use
of potash will not be warranted when
the price is as high as it is, except
in the rare case when this element
is decidedly the limiting factor. Lime,
however, is fundamental. There is
generally no use seeding red clover
on "sour" soil.
Use for A1sike Glover
If the farmer cannot lime and the
land is worn or sour" or if the land
is poorly drained, low, and damp, al
sike clover should be seeded. 1t is a
common practice now to mix the red
clover with alsike for worn or partly
rundown land. Alsike likes lime,
too, but 1t will make a crop on land
that will not bring red clover. This
is especially true if the soil is both
"sour" and damp. Of course, soil can
be SO "sour" that even alsike will not
grow. In such case there is Moth
ing for it but to lime or to quit clo-
yer.
On land that has lime but is other
wise poor and lacks organic matter
try sweet clover. 1t is no use SOW
ing this on "sour' soil. 1t won't
thrive. But with lime it is about the
best clover for poor land. It will add