150^ Missouri Agricultural Report . 



rotation for building up a farm, especially' when used in connection 

 with a thorough system of fertilizing and applying manures. 



In all of these rotations the clover is sown in the wheat. This is 

 done at various times and in various ways. Every man has his own 

 "best" time and method, by which he must proceed in order to be 

 successful. Some sow their clover seed as early as February, while 

 others wait until April with aj^parently equal success. There are still 

 others who sow one-half of their seed early and the other half late and 

 get very good results. Probably more farmers prefer to sow the seed 

 rather early, either in February or March, being especially anxious to 

 catch the ground in a "honey-combed" condition, or, if not in this shape, 

 to sow on a light snow. There are many good features about this. The 

 farmer usually gets the work done when otherwise not very busy. There 

 is very little labor connected with. the seeding, and thus there is very 

 little invested in the crop except the seed. And, if conditions are right 

 and everything favorable, a fairly good "catch" of clover is usually 

 secured, but at best there is much uncertainty and a great deal of the 

 element of chance in the average method of seeding clover which ought 

 to be eliminated if possible. 



When it is considered that for every other crop the farmer pre- 

 pares a good seed bed, or at least he should, but that with clover sown 

 in wheat it is nearly all haphazard and largely trusted to luck, we are 

 at once impressed that a mere sowing of the seed on the wheat ground 

 is not giving the clover a fair chance to grow and do its best. Especially 

 does this practice become hazardous on lands that have been farmed for 

 a number of years and have become exhausted in fertility and low in 

 humus and vegetable matter. Under these conditions the soil becomes 

 dead and lifeless, packs and bakes with dashing rains and sunshine, 

 until it resembles a traveled road. There is little chance for the clover 

 seed to become covered, or even if a foothold is secured, there is little 

 hope of the young plants living. 



During the progress of these studies it has been quite evident that 

 as soil conditions change our methods of seeding clover with wheat 

 must be changed and made more thorough. However, it is not an easy 

 matter to introduce radical changes in present methods, with an equal 

 assurance that farmers in general will be more successful. Nor is it 

 the purpose of this work to urge too great changes in these methods, but 

 to call attention to other practices which will make them more reliable 

 and success much more certain. 



narrowing the ivlieat. — In nearly every community where these 

 studies have been carried on one or more farmers have usually been 



