64 The Ottawa Naturalist. [July 



It only remains for me to say in this connection that clover 

 requires, comparatively speaking, large amounts of the mineral 

 constituents, potash, phosphoric acid, and lime. These being 

 present in sufficient quanlities, the clover plant with the aid of the 

 o-erms I have referred to will obtain its own nitrogen. This points 

 to the economy, where the soil is poor in these mineral elements, 

 of supplying a certain amount of them either as wood-ashes — our 

 own special product, and one that we are parting with to farmers 

 in the United States at a price much below their true value -or 

 some form of German potash salts supplementefl by super- 

 phosphate or basic slag, to encourage the growth of the clover. 



In conclusion, I propose to present some of our field results, 

 showing the beneficial effects upon grain and other crops from this 

 system of manuring by clover. They are of an exceedingly strik- 

 ing character, and furnish ample corroboration of the claims I 

 have made for the clover crop as a means for increasing the soil's 

 productiveness. These field experiments, I should add, were all 

 conducted by Dr. Saunders, Director of the Experimental Farms. 



Grain j^fter Clover. 



In 1897, eight plots were sown with grain, four with the addition 

 of clover seed at the rate of 10 pounds to the acre, four without the 

 addition of clover. In October of the same year the crop of clover 

 was turned under, the adjoining " no clover " plots being ploughed 

 at the same time. • The grain sown on these plots were : Preston 

 wheat, Banner oats, Bolton barley, and Odessa barley. This 

 land without any application of manure was sown in 1S98 with 

 Banner oats. Regarding the appearance of the growing crops on 

 these plots, Dr. Saunders speaks as follows : — "The difference in 

 the growth of the grain on these plots was soon very noticeable, 

 and, as the season advanced, especially just before the heads ap- 

 peared, the difference in height and vigour of growth in favour of 

 the plots where the clover had been grown was very remarkable. 

 So clearly was this manifest, that the difference could be dis- 

 tinctly seen at a considerable distance, and the outline ot those, 

 plots on which no clover had been sown could be readily traced 

 by the manifestly shorter and less vigorous growth. After the 

 grain was fully headed, the difference in appearance was not so 

 clearly seen at a distance, but by careful examination it could be 

 easily traced." The plots were cut and threshed separately, and 

 weighings made of the grain and straw from each plot obtained. 

 The results showed an average increase in the yield of grain from 

 the four clover plots of more than 1 1 bushels per acre over that 

 on the plots on which there had been no clover sown. 



