34 A YEAR IN AGRICULTURE 



bacteria on the roots, yet land rich in nitrogen grows the 

 better clover crop. Liberal applications of barnyard manure 

 as a top-dressing generally give good returns. 



Seeding 1 . Clover seed may be sown broadcast in February, 

 March or April on land seeded the previous fall to wheat or 

 rye; or it may be seeded in the spring with oats or barley. 

 From eight to twelve pounds of seed per acre is sown, if the 

 seed is of good quality and the soil in good condition ; other- 

 wise the quantity should be increased. Sometimes red clover 

 is sown in August or September, where the soil is in condi- 

 tion to allow a good "catch" before the winter. 



Clover in crop rotation. We can scarcely think of any 

 good system of crop rotation without the use of clover or 

 some other legume. For three-year rotations, such systems 

 as corn, oats, and clover, or corn, wheat, and clover, are 

 used. Four-year rotations (in grain farming) include wheat, 

 corn, oats, and clover; or corn, corn, oats, and clover (in 

 live-stock farming). In the four-year rotation for grain farm- 

 ing a "catch" crop of clover may be seeded on the wheat 

 ground and plowed under the next spring for corn, and the 

 regular clover crop in the fourth year may be mowed once 

 or twice and left lying on the land, the seed crop afterwards 

 being harvested with a buncher attached to the mower. 



"In grain farming, only grain or seed should be sold from 

 the farm; all clover, straw, and stalks being returned to the 

 land in order to maintain the supply of organic matter and 

 nitrogen, which are just as important as limestone and phos- 

 phorus ; and in live-stock farming, all produce should be used 

 for feed and bedding and all manure carefully saved and 



