The Question Box. 59 



tliey are cut before they go to seed and are properly cured, they 

 make a very good hay. Timothy is not fitted for sheep. I have 

 tried it many times, and do not want it to feed any animal on the 

 farm. 



Question. — When is the best time to cut clover? 

 Mr. Litchard. — I cut my clover just before the first blossoms 

 close. We cut it after the dew or rain is off, allow it to wilt, then 

 cock it and let it stand and cure. All we want is to get the surplus 

 water out of it. 



A Farmer. — Suppose we have a rainy season; then what? 

 Mr. Litchard. — Do the best you can and trust the Lord for the 

 rest ; but clover may be put in quite green if all the foreign water 

 is out of it, the barn made tight and doors kept closed. I use 

 the tedder. It is one of the best tools on my farm. It will get 

 the water out of it quickly; when that is done we want to hustle 

 the clover into the barn. 



Mr. Smith. — ■ At the Geneva Station we cut our clover just as 

 soon as the dew is off or it has dried off after a rain. It is then al- 

 lowed to wilt, after which it is raked and cocked, and paper caps 

 placed upon them. They stand there Until cured enough to draw in. 

 A Farmer. — Clover fails here largely (Niagara county). So 

 we are sowing rye in its stead to plow under. 



Mr. Witter. — Rye, when turned under, before it is too large, 

 will furnish humus; but it does not add anv fertilitv to the soil, 

 while clover does, because it takes nitrogen from the atmosphere, 

 stores it in nodules on its roots, then transmits it to the soil. 

 Clover will not grow in an acid soil. 



Question. — How can we make clover grow on poor land? 

 Mr. Rice. — There are two ways to get such land into condition 

 to get a catch of clover. If you have manure and will apply 

 enough of it so that it will make humus, if the soil is not acid, it 

 will put it in proper condition. If you do not have the manure, 

 sow cow peas or rye, and plow them under. There must be 

 humus first supplied to hold moisture. Young clover is a tender 

 plant and must have moisture, a sweet soil and a plentiful supply 

 of plant food. When you have the vegetable matter in the soil, 

 apply a good commercial fertilizer containing only a small per 

 cent, of nitrogen, but rich in potash and phosphoric acid. By 

 following this method we never fail to get a clover catch. 



Question. — What is the reason we cannot grow red clover? It 

 has been a failure here in Steuben county the last four or five 

 vears. 



