308 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



different applications of materia 1 !? from sand or loam, the clay beiug a solid. 

 compact substance, Deeding an application of something - to open, loosen and 



make more porous, for if the season is wet it holds water on the surface and 

 injures rop : if an extremely dry season it packs so hard that it is almost 



impossible to cultivate or work. From my experience the application of coarse 

 straw manure from stables, barn yard or pig pens, or something to plow under, 

 as p is >rn or buckwheat, is good: but clover is best, loosening sufficient to 

 let surface water go down. 



If manure is used, or anything containing ammonia, plow under as soon as 

 convenient, to retain the ammonia. Anything that contains alkali never 

 old be used on clay, for it forms a stronger compact. Wood ashes, leached 

 .'.nleaehed. would be injurious. I at one time saw leached ashes applied on 

 day by one of my neighbors, in Niagara county. York State. He bought all 

 the ashes from an ashery for several years, and applied to a held of ten acres, 

 plowing them under. He cultivated through the summer, and sowed to wheat 

 in September, after taking the crop off the next summer. The following spring 

 was dry in April, and he plowed for corn, but received little benefit for three 

 or four years after: and to bring it back to its former condition he used the 

 large kind of clover, and plowed it under. Sandy or loamy soils require differ- 

 ent applications — almost the reverse from clay. Loamy and sandy soils at 

 some seasons are too loose, and need compacting. Anything containing alka- 

 lies, phosphates, or wood ashes would form a surface and make it compact. 



In tiiis sandy ountry we see farmers drawing manure from the city, com- 

 posed of sawdust used for bedding in stables: and. in my opinion, that kind of 

 manure needs a great deal of labor to give small benefit. It has to be applied 

 almost every year, keeps the land continually in use. and exhausts all the prop- 

 erties required for certain crops. Applying clover has a tendency to bring 

 back what is required, or exhausted by the continuation of one crop. In sow- 

 ing clover, to get quick returns, use the large kind, as in clay, and when plowed 

 under use a roller to press the soil more firmly together and form a solid surface. 

 It is better, however, to leave the land in clover for two or three years, applying 

 plaster and giving the land time to receive all the benefit. The proper applica- 

 tion of plaster is of great benefit to clover. Some use too much, and apply 

 too early in spring before the surface is warm: for p' aster is of a cold nature, 

 and its great benefit is that it attracts from the atmosphere. Use from thirty 

 to fifty pounds per acre. Have seen more benefit from thirty pounds than two 

 hundred. A compost can be made of plaster, ashes, lime, salt and guano from 

 the hen roost and applied to any crop, grain, vegetables, or fruit with good 

 effect and in small quantities. It has the same power of drawing from the 

 atmosphere that plaster alone has. and strong tendency to form a compact sur- 

 face. It will retain its effects louder than any manure containing ammonia, 

 for one evaporates and the other attracts. 



When we sow clover we should be liberal with seed: sow a peck per acre., and 

 if a good stand is obtained, give the soil the largest portion of the growth. 

 You will raise the condition of the soil quicker than to take all that grows for 

 hay, and leave nothing but the roots to benefit the soil Now, I do not main- 

 tain that manure drawn from town or barn-yard will do no sood, for any kind 

 will do a certain amount: but. from my experience and observation, we can 

 obtain more benefit from clover than from any other application, if assisted by 

 thirty or forty pounds of plaster each spring, as soon as it is warm enough to 

 start the clover 



