ft FARMER'S BOOK OF GRASSES 



tilizer ; on another part Sterne's Superphosphate ; on another 

 Dickson's Compound ; and on another in the first furrow stable 

 manure, upon which the bed was made. All parts made a good 

 crop of cotton. It has had no fertilizer since. The next year 

 I raised corn on it and a good crop of weeds. In September all 

 the live stock was turned on it for a month. It was then broken 

 and harrowed several times and seeded with clover in November 

 and January. It has had two mowings a year, and more or less 

 stock on it every winter. Yet it is what you have seen. I have 

 other lots of clover equally good, one better. 



The first week in April, 1874, a passing plow cut off a clover 

 root. Examining it, I found fifty-six stems from 20 to 25 inches 

 long growing from the one root. It was just beginning to bloom. 

 This some of you have seen as well as other equally interesting 

 specimens. Last year we commenced feeding clover early in A- 

 pril; this year nearly a month later, the season being very unfa- 

 vorable for early growth. All kinds of farm animals eat red clo- 

 ver very greedily whether green, or drv. I need not tell you of 

 its value for all. This you already know. 



Varieties. The sapling clover is a very large coarse variety, and 

 not desirable. The medium and smaller, I think really but one ; 

 the diiference in size depending on the soil and management. The 

 common medium variety sometimes grows larger than I like. I 

 have no doubt I could make it produce seven tons of cured hay 

 per acre. But it would be coarse, less nutritious and require 

 longer to cure than when lighter, AVhen it yields enough for 

 three tons of dry hay at one mowing, it cann'ot be cured prompt- 

 ly enough to make the choicest hay, unless the product of one 

 aere be spread over much more ground than it grows on. More 

 can be cured indeed and make excellent hav ; but not the best. 

 Red clover improves land much more than spotted medick 

 both as a fertilizer and ameliorator. Its large tap-root in favor- 

 able situations penetrates five to ten feet deep. 



The above remarks were made in a lecture in 1875; speci- 

 mens being in the hands of the audience. The clover was suf- 

 fered to occupy the land two years longer, or in all seven years. 

 1^0 fertilizer was at any time applied after 1869 as above stated 

 for cotton. The clover was equally good to the last. But pro- 

 longed rains and want of time prevented more than one mow- 

 ing a year for two years ; and thus many weeds had time to ma- 

 ture seeds and propagate to a large extent. Two mowings a 

 year seem sufficient to prevent the growth of noxious weeds a- 

 mong the clover. 



After mowing in 1877, the ground was plowed and set with 

 sweet potatoe vines in the summer and yielded an immense crop 

 without manure. When the potatoes were harvested iu autumn, 

 the field was seeded with red rust proof oats, a small quantity of 

 cotton seed being scattered and plowed in with the oats. The 



