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to grow to harrow the land after the seed is sown. With oats, the seeds 

 should be sown after the last harrowing or brushing, with a slight after- 

 brushing to cover them. 



It often happens when clover seed is sown with wheat or oats, espec- 

 ially if the land be much worn, that a '"catch" will not be obtained. The 

 practice is so universal throughout the country of sowing clover with 

 small grain, that many farmers labor under the impression that this is the 

 only way of seeding land to clover. This idea is erroneous. A better stand 

 of clover with less seed, may always be secured by sowing upon land pre- 

 pared for clover alone. An excellent catch upon "galled"' places may be 

 had by breaking the land well and sowing the seed without any previous 

 or after harrowing. In nine cases out of ten a stand will be secured in 

 this way upon soils where clover sown with small grain will fail in nine 

 cases out of ten. Clover seed sown upon a well harrowed stalk field will, 

 in most cases, secure a stand. 



The quantity of seed to sow per acre depends upon the character of 

 the soil, its state of pulverization and also upon the fact whether the land 

 has ever been seeded to clover. Upon good, fresh, rich soils where clover 

 has not been previously grown, one bushel for eight acres should be 

 sown. If the soil is thin and tmproductive one bushel for six acres 

 ought to be sown. If the land has been regularly rotated with clover, 

 one half the quantity of seed mentioned above will suffice; sometimes 

 much less. Clover seed, owing to the large quantity of oil which it con- 

 tains, is nearly indestructible when placed ten or twelve inches beneath 

 the surface. 



The frequent failure to secure a good stand of clover should admon- 

 ish the farmers to exercise more care in the seeding. When sown 

 late in the spring many of the seeds sprout and are killed by dry weather. 

 It would be all the better if the clover seed could be buried a half inch 

 (or even an inch on loose soils) beneath the surface after the middle of 

 March. The common practice in England is to sow not only clover, 

 but all grass seeds, with oats or barley in spring. After the seeds 

 are sown the field is harrowed and then rolled, so as to cover them 

 and at the same time to smooth the surface of the field. While upon well 

 prepared soils a bushel to eight acres is sufficient, yet a bushel to six 

 acres will, in a majority of cases, give better and more satisfactory results. 

 In England 24 pounds are usually sown to the acre when the crop is in- 

 tended for hay. The smaller the stem the more acceptable it is to cattle. 

 When the clover is thin, the woody fibre is greatly increased. There is 

 no greater blunder committed by the farmer, than to be sparing of grass 

 seed. It is difficult for grass to be too thick. The plants shelter one an- 

 other; they retain for a longer time the dew and moisture when thickly 

 set, and they must push upward as there is no lateral space to occupy. 



GROWTH AND MANURE— Rod clover rarely makes much 

 growth the first season, if sown with grain. Should the weather be sea- 

 sonable after harvest, and the land fertile, it will sometimes attain the 

 height of thirty inches and put out blooms, making an excellent fall pas- 

 ture. When sown alone, it will always blossom in August. 



Sheep and hogs are very injurious to young clover, and should never 



