Belt Valley times. [volume] (Armington, Mont.) 1894-1977, 1924-02-28
Hard to Keep Up
Stand of Clover
Reduction of Humus and
Plant Food in Soil In
creases Difficulty.


The most serious problem at pres
ent confronting the American farmer
In many OF the clover sections is the
increasing difficulty of successfully
maintaining stands Of clover, says the
United States Department Of Agrlcul-
ture. With continuous cropping and
the consequent reduction OF the humus
and plant food in the soil the difficulty
OF growing red clover Is greatly in
creased. This condition must be met
and solved, since the loss Of clover or
Its equivalent from the rotation leads
rapidly to a rundown farm and un-
profitable crop yields.
Suggestions for red clover culture
based on many years. Of observation
study. and experimental work are pre-
sented in the new Farmers Bulletin
1889, Red Clover Culture, just issued
by the United States Department of
Agriculture. The method adopted In
any locality for growing clover, says
the bulletin. must depend on the ro-
tatiOns followed and the labor and
weather conditions in each place! 1t
may be emphasized, however. that TO
get good stand the clover must have
fair chance AS usually seeded, too
little attention is paid TO the weak
ness of the young clover plant and Its
needs. In the clover belt clover is Inn
portant enough to warrant special care
in selecting the seeding method best
suited to the special soil and to the
other conditions prevailing.
Essentials for Glover.
Clover must have lime. phosphorus
and potash, and If the soil is poor In
any of these 1t must be supplied be-
fore clover can be expected to do well.
A deep well-drained soil is desirable.
as on a poorly drained soil red clover
will not thrive; better SOW alsIke
clover on such soils II the drainage |
cannot be improved to suitable state
for red clover. The questions Of lime
and fertilizers are largely local ones
The soils In the clover belt vary wide
", and the various fields on the same
'arm may need different treatments
The most suitable treatment for each
'arm or field Is best determined by
est, and this can be made without a
great deal Of trouble. A diagram In
he bulletin illustrates how this is
lone by treating a series of experiment
al plats with the various Fertilizers.
A series of plats. eight In number.
8 laid out in the field to be tested on
and as nearly representative. of the
,ntite field as is possible to determine
rom observation beforehand. The first
lat is left untreated for a check and
S also the last In the row. Lime alone
8 put on the second. lime and phOs-
hate on the third, lime and manure
n the fourth, manure alone on the
fth. manure and phosphate on the
Ixth and phosphate alone on the sew
nth. The eighth plat is left untreat-
d for a check.
Find Best Fertilizer.
This arrangement allows the appli-
alton of all the lime and all the ma
ure to one continuous area The
hosphate alone must be applied to
eparate areas, and phosphate is the
asiest to apply. Potash plats can be !
lserted IL desired, but over most OF
lie clover area scarcity of phosphate
much more common, than scarcity
I potash, and by following the outline
the farmer Is likely to find
HIGH fertilizer is best to use. A ton
ground limestone and $50 to 300
Funds Of 10 per cent acid phosphate
sr acre is suggested unless the land I
known to be very poor in lime.
hen two tons Of limestone may be
,plied.
A copy Of this bulletin may be Sc 7
red, as long as the supply lasts, from ?
e United States Department OF Ag-