194 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



For the production of fruit alone there is an apparent excess of 

 nitrogen in the clover manure, but not more, it is believed, than is 

 necessary to maintain a vigorous, healthy growth of the trees and 

 vines at the same time that average crops of fruits are produced. It 

 will be noted that a two-ton crop of clover, with its stubble and roots, 

 supplies sufficient nitrogen for five crops of apples, seven crops of 

 pears, or six crops of grapes — assuming that no growth of trees and 

 vines occurs. 



The nitrogen supply (in almost every branch of crop-growing the 

 most perplexing) is, therefore, practically assured by growing and 

 plowing under every four or five years a crop of clover, or by growing 

 clover every two or three years, removing the crop for hay and turn- 

 ing the stubble aud roots under. On fairly good soil, clean tillage dur- 

 ing the time the land is not occupied with clover, will liberate sufficient 

 potash and phosphoric acid for a healthy growth of the trees, and for 

 maximum crops of fruit. 



SOME POINTS TO BE OBSERYBD IN SECURING A GROWTH OF CLOVER. 



It often occurs that poor hillsides, or lands that have been badly 

 run down, are planted to orchards and vineyards, and considerable 

 difficulty is experienced in getting a growth of clover at first. In such 

 cases an application of air-slacked lime, at the rate of 50 to 75 bushels 

 per acre on the plowed ground, and harrowed in, will usually remedy 

 this difficulty. I would not recommend the use of lime except to in- 

 duce a growth of clover. This is a very common practice in the East. 

 If lime cannot be burned and applied at less than 8 cents per bashel 

 it will be cheaper to use a potash fertilizer, such as muriate of potash, 

 at the rate of about 200 pounds per acre, sown broadcast and har- 

 rowed in. It will be remembered that fruit trees and fruit require a 

 large amount of potash, so that the orchardist will be doubly repaid 

 for his use of this fertilizer, inasmuch as it will greatly benefit the fruit 

 trees in addition to inducing a good growth of clover. 



GROWING RED CLOVER. 



On those very poor or naturally very dry soils it will be best at 

 the beginning to grow clover alone and turn the whole crop under. A 

 good practice is to seed the land with oats, at the rate of about one 

 bushel per acre, making the ground very fine, and sowing the clover 

 at the rate of ten to twelve pounds per acre (with a pound or two of 

 timothy or orchard grass added) and covering very lightly with a brush 

 or smoothing harrow. If the oats should grow very rank and threaten 

 to smoother the clover, run the mower over it, set rather high. In 



