No. G. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 325 



ir llii lifld (iinnol be jj;iveii ('xc!iisi\ dy to llir cIonci-, aud a tjij<' 

 so<Hl-bed prepared and sown in April, a wheat or rye stubble field 

 may be prepared by burning off the stubble, if necessary, and thor 

 oughly harrowing- it, with the chances that not only a better stand 

 will be obtained, but a be tier root system will be developed than in 

 tlie feeble plants that have struggled among the grain for a foot- 

 hold and tluMi been suddejily thrown into the scorching sun and 

 drouth of mid-summer at harvest time. 



Crimson clover, that queen of fertilizers, being an a}inual, may be 

 sown as an aft(U'~crop and turned under near the latter part of 

 .May, when in full bloom, for corn ov potatoes. It will have acted as 

 a cover-crop of great importance, and will furnish a vast amount of 

 humus and nitrogen. It is better to sow it after early potatoes or 

 on stubble ground i)repared as alreadN^ indicated, it nmy be sown 

 in corn ahead of the last working, never later tlian the first of 

 August, if the corn is a small variety and rowed wide apart, with 

 the rows running north and south, so that sunlight will be freely 

 admitted. Home-grown seed should always be used, not less than 

 fifteen pounds to the acre, and it should be well cultivated in. 

 Unless well coAered, the drj-, hot weather usual in August and Se])- 

 tember, will probably destroy most of it. Early seeding and thor- 

 ough covering is necessary also to secure a root development suffi- 

 cient to prevent heaving during the wi'iiter, though freezing the 

 plant does no harm. My experience shows that under like condi- 

 tions Crimson clover is as hardy as Red clover. 



Scores of unsuccessful attempts to secure a clover stand have 

 been detailed to me during Institute work, and I have usually found 

 that in such cases the chief causes of failure, named in t4ie order of 

 their importance, were the following: Lack of humus and frequently 

 the presence of acid; the ever-present "nurse crop;" imperfect seed- 

 bed and seeding, and imperfect drainage. 



I condense the statement of the conditions of clover production 

 into five sentences: Clear the soil interstices of stagnant water; 

 fill the soil with humus by plowing under stable manure or rye and 

 vetch; apply caustic lime, 500 to 1,000 pounds per acre; ^^repare a 

 deep, fine seed-bed and thoroughly cover the seed; give the field 

 wholly to the clover as early in the season as practicable. 



The growth of the clover will be greatly promoted with a top- 

 dressing of well-rotted stable manure. It is a mistake to suppose 

 that, because clover derives much of its nitrogen from the air, it 

 needs no nitrogenous fertilizer to start its growth. But if the soil is 

 dark with humus, a commercial fertilizer containing about eight per 

 cent, of potash and twelve per cent, of phosphoric acid, if on a clay 

 soil; or twelve per cent, of potash and eight per cent, of phosphoric 

 acid, if on sandy ground, drilled at the rate of 150 to 250 pounds per 



